Kung Fu Pirate:  New Millennium
by Lynx-Angel
Summary: Hai is a pirate and he's set out on a great adventure. But what happens when he runs into Po and the Five?    Reviews are wanted and appreciated! :D
1. Complications of a Traveler

_For those who are willing to make an effort, great miracles and wonderful treasures are in store._  
><strong><br>Isaac Bashevis Singer**

* * *

><p>The sun was already setting in the sky, painting the mountains and the treetops above me orange and red. I had been walking since yesterday till now without stop. I was completely exhausted and my feet were sore from walking, but I knew I had to keep going. If I didn't make it to any civilization before night, I would have to spend the night in the forest. Not because I'm a wimp or anything, but that's not really something I like. But I could take it if I had to – I'm a pirate after all.<p>

But what kind of pirate am I? I couldn't even kill a few children. I know what you're thinking now: "Oh, but that's okay! Who would be able to do that?" But if you had grown up as my father's child, you'd know that a real pirate should be able to do this. But I hadn't been able to, so here I was, sent off to complete an impossible task.

"The greatest treasure in the world," I muttered as I made my way through the forest. "Like I could ever find that in _China_…"

Once when the crew was resting on a pub I had overheard some drunk pirates talk about it, but the rum's effect made it impossible to understand them and overall the pirates in the pub were noisy, so I hadn't heard anything that could help me now.

At least I wouldn't starve if I didn't get to a town before nightfall; the villagers, whose children I had spared, had given me some supplies. I hadn't really wanted it at first, since I wasn't that proud of the fact that I hadn't been able to kill their children. If it wasn't because I was sent off without anything but a wooden sword, I wouldn't have accepted their stuff. But anyways, those pandas seemed to be more than happy to help me, despite what my dad had done to their village. I didn't quite understand how they could forgive me for such a thing.

But I had other things to worry about right now. _The Greatest Treasure in the World…_ Where could it be? And more important: _What_ could it be? Did my dad mean gold, or did he mean like a weapon or an item? Whatever my dad had in mind, it probably wouldn't be easy to get. My dad is a cruel man, so it wouldn't be a surprise if I would die in the process of getting the treasure – he probably didn't even care.

The air had gotten colder when I finally reached a cliff. I stopped, mainly because the road stopped here, but also to enjoy the sight. I knew I didn't have time for this, but who even cared? I had like three weeks!

The sun still lit up the mountains and the valleys, so there were still some hours till nightfall. It was then that I noticed that there was a village in valley far away. If I could just make it to there before nightfall I could possibly find shelter, but it would be quite a long walk, so I couldn't waste any more time here.

I walked along the edge of the cliff, careful not to fall. I could see that the edge continued, but on the side of the mountain it became a very narrow path. I stopped when I reached the mountainside. It wasn't more than one foot in width, and I was still a little unsure of whether I should take the risk or not. I wasn't that big, even for a lynx, but it still looked like a small edge to me. I didn't want to fall into certain death, but there didn't seem to be any other way. I took a deep breath and put my right foot on the edge. My furry foot barely fit, but at least I had a good balance. I carefully slid my foot along the edge and soon my back was leaning against the mountain behind me. My left foot also stood on the edge now and soon I swiftly and agilely made my way across the cliff-edge. One problem was that the wooden sword my dad gave me was on my back and just made it harder to press myself against the mountain-wall.

I tried to focus, but I couldn't help but smile a little at my great 'footwork'. Maybe this task itself wouldn't be too hard! But then again, there were bounty hunters to deal with. I'm not a rumored murder like my dad, but I'm quite a good thief – if I have to say it myself. So my bounty was around 120 gold coins or whatever. It didn't really matter, but my bounty was pretty decent, I think. One thing I didn't like about it was the fact that the bounty posters for pirates read 'Wanted dead or alive'. That kind of bothered me, since I didn't want to get slaughtered by some bounty hunter.

Oh well… I finally reached the other side of the cliff and took a deep breath of relief as all my focus and tension soon washed away as I relaxed again with solid ground under my feet. It had been around fifty meters, but I made it! On the way I had pushed some pebbles into the cliff, but they didn't keep me from crossing the cliff – no way!

Soon I was on the move again, this time towards a goal – the little mountain village I had seen from a distance. It was soon nightfall and out in the west, the sun painted the sky greenish with a little mix of blue and violet, which I had seen so many times before on the sea where it looks even more magnificent, just saying.

I came to another little forest. From earlier, when I had looked down on the valley, I knew that the village would be just beyond this forest.

The forest was already pretty dark, but luckily I have an excellent night-vision, due to being a lynx. My night vision didn't make that much of a difference, since the full moon also shone down. But all I could see was trees – the forest was deserted for all life.

Suddenly I heard running footsteps. It sounded like they came from behind me. I wasted no time and started running; whoever was after me, they hadn't been good at sneaking or stalking me. I ran at full speed through the little forest. I then turned to see if my stalker was still after me, but I saw no one behind me. I could still hear the footsteps though.

This was weird. How come I could hear them, but not see them? Maybe they played a trick on me – maybe it was a trap! But it was too late when I looked forwards again; I bumped right into someone and from the impact I could feel that we had both been running at full speed. The impact sent me a few meters backwards into a tree. When I hit the tree, a massive sound was heard throughout the forest – plus I groaned in pain at the same time, which also echoed throughout the forest and probably also the rest of the valley.

I don't know if you've ever tried to fly into a tree, but personally I don't like it. The impact with the wooden log knocked the air out of my lungs and I couldn't feel my back. The back of my head hurt like something that would be inappropriate to say with this story's rating, but appropriate to a pirate. Oh, and having a sword on you back just makes it that much worse.

It took a while for me to recover from the pain, but the other person already stood in front of me. Whoever it was, I was sure that they'd get me tied up or something so that they could get the bounty.

But the other person just stood there. "You okay?"

Okay? What kind of bounty hunter would ask their catch that? Maybe she was newer to bounty hunting. I could see that she was a tigress. She was a little taller than me and she even looked more muscular. She wore a Kung Fu outfit, but I wasn't able to see the color of her fur and her clothes – my night vision isn't that good – only gray scale. Her clothes actually looked pretty expensive. Since she was a tiger, she could probably see me too just as well.

My head still hurt from before, but if she tried anything, I would be ready. My wood-sword was in its sheath on my back and all I had to do was to draw it… and use it of course.

"Are you okay?" she repeated. When I still didn't answer she growled: "Have you lost your tongue?"

"N-no, I'm… fine…" I finally replied. I carefully and cautiously got to my feet as I kept my eyes on the other person. I carefully watched her as she examined me with her eyes, probably not too impressed with my old and torn clothes; my clothes made me look very poor compared to her. Dad earned lots of money and might on the seas over the years, but we never spent money on clothes, so we would have to use what we had or simply steal it. My black robes were pretty old, but they still fit me.

"So… aren't you going to…?" If she was a bounty hunter she probably would have caught me by now, but a pirate can't be too careful around strangers. That was one thing I had learned on the seas.

"Oh right… Sorry about before," the tigress replied, keeping the same facial expression all along. If she hadn't talked, I would've thought that she was a statue – her face didn't change and only changed slightly when she opened her mouth to speak.

"What do you…?" It wasn't really what I had expected her to do. I would have expected her to like attack me or something, but all she did was to _apologize_ to me!

"Oh, nothing… it's fine…" I replied when I saw her face change expression to a more confused one. I just realized that she wasn't a bounty hunter and I didn't want to reveal myself – it could change her mind and her arms looked awfully muscular.

"Gotcha!" I almost jumped out of my fur in surprise. Just as we were talking, someone appeared out of nowhere and patted the tigress on her shoulder. The ambush surprised me so much that I jumped backwards and pulled my sword from the sheath, which still hung on my back. As I did so I also went into a battle position, so that I was ready to use my sword any second – wood or metal, it would still be able to protect me.

From what I could see, the other person who had jumped the tigress was some kind of monkey. His face looked kind of weird to me; I don't know if it was just his fur, but his cheeks looked really chubby. He had long arms and fingers and a very long tail too. As for clothes, he wore a pair of pants with robes around his ankles and he also wore leathery-looking wristbands. I couldn't make out the color of his fur and his clothes, due to the fact that my night vision is on gray scale. But I was able to make out which parts of him had darker colors than others, but still not the actual color.

He had a smile on his face, but it changed to a surprised expression when he saw me. Then his eyes moved up a little and I was sure that he was looking at my sword.

"Wow, relax," the monkey said and held up his hands in surrender, even though I could tell that he wasn't serious about it. It wasn't that much of a big deal, but his sarcasm still annoyed me at this moment.

It was a little weird that he reacted like this, but maybe he couldn't see that it was actually a wood sword I wielded in my hands and he probably thought that it was metallic. If he would turn out to be an enemy of mine, this would get useful.

"Who are you two?" I asked, not moving a muscle, other than the ones I used to speak. I couldn't be too careful around these people, whether they were bounty hunters or not.

"Now he's getting all dramatic," the monkey commented, still with an obvious sarcasm. If it wasn't because I only had a wood sword, I would have shredded his sarcastic face in half… probably.

But before I could even get an answer someone else entered the scene. I could feel their eyes on me and I immediately knew that we were being watched. Suddenly a few leaves in the tree behind me twitched. I looked up at the treetop where the sounds had come from.

I could see movement between the leaves, but I couldn't react when something shot out and slammed the sword out of my hand. Whatever it was, it had moved faster than I could see and I'm a lynx, so I have pretty good reflexes.

"Ah!" After grabbing my hand to make the pain from impact subside and looked up to see who had attacked me. I looked around after the person, but I didn't find her before I looked downwards. She was some kind of snake with weird, dark markings on her back. And was that flowers on the back of her head? She stood – or whatever it's called – between me and the two others and my sword was a little further away, due to the impact.

"We're not someone you would like to mess with," the snake replied. She sounded confident about it and by the looks of it, she was probably right. One thing was the fact that they were three and I was one. Another was that the way she had slammed the sword out of my hand had been faster than I could even see.

"… Can I have your names?" I asked, trying to buy some time. If they were about to beat me up, the longer time I used on talking, the more time I would have to come up with a plan. I just needed a minute or so…

"Viper," the snake – or more politically correct, the viper – replied.

"Tigress."

"Monkey," the monkey replied as the last. He still had that challenging and teasing voice, which really annoyed me, but I just ignored it and tried to figure out what to do.

Now, if I could just get my sword back I could possibly be able to defeat them. But how?

"And you – who are you?" Monkey asked. I still found it kind of dull that their names were what they were, but that didn't matter right now.

What should I say? Should I tell them the truth?_ Oh, hi my name is Hai and I'm a pirate and I'm on the hunt for the greatest treasure in the world!_ That would sound really weird and dumb… plus they'd probably beat me up if I said that I was a pirate.

"… My name is Hai…" I replied calmly. I don't know why I told them my real name, but they couldn't use that against me – hopefully. I mean, as long as I didn't reveal my last name or _that_. And by 'that' I mean the tattoo that marks you as a pirate. It's not that special, just the kanjis for pirate. If you really want to know, then it's on the right side of my chest. Anyone who calls themselves s pirate has a tattoo like that, but it's their own decision where it should be – except me, since my dad determined that.

"What brings you here, then… Hai…?" Tigress asked. The way that she had said my name sounded like it was a whole new word for her to pronounce – or maybe she just doubted that it was my name. But why trust some weird, sword-wielding stranger?

"I'm a traveler," I lied. What else could I have said that wouldn't get me revealed? "I saw the village over there and thought that I could stay there for the night."

None of the tree seemed to buy it. I couldn't really blame them for that, since I wouldn't really trust a person like me – since I knew me.

"And your sword…?" Tigress asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A gift from my dad," I replied. It wasn't a straight up lie, since my dad had given it to me, but that was because he confiscated my two real swords, which were made of metal. By the way, the wood sword was just an extra punishment and insult.

They still didn't seem to believe me, but I couldn't really care about it. I mean, if they had a problem with me, then they could just leave me alone.

"Fine," Viper finally said to break the silence.

"What's fine?" I asked.

"You can come with us to the village."

"What?" I wasn't the only one to ask, but Monkey and Tigress did as well in unison with me. Who the heck just tells a stranger with a sword to just come along to their village? And even a pirate! Okay, they didn't know, so that didn't really play a major role at this moment.

"Viper, you can't be serious," Monkey started. Obviously he was just as surprised as he had sounded before, but I didn't notice it that much, since I was pretty surprised as well.

"Why not?" Viper seemed used to arguing and she actually seemed to know what she was doing – somehow. "It's called the Valley of Peace, so anyone should be welcome, right?"

At first Viper had looked as cool and cold as Tigress had, but now she seemed to be the more peaceful type. It was kind of weird though; she went from slamming my sword out of my hand and now she invited me to come along with her, Monkey and Tigress. Not that I was complaining – I did want to come along and all, but only to get shelter for the night.

But Tigress and Monkey simply turned so that they faced Viper and their backs were turned against me, obviously because they didn't want me to overhear an upcoming conversation.

"Do you really think we can trust him?" Tigress asked. I probably wasn't meant to hear it, but lynxes have an excellent hearing, you know… which they apparently didn't know.

"Probably," the snake answered her feline friend. "I mean, maybe he just needs time."

"Time," Monkey repeated in an immature and doubtful way as if he thought that was crazy. He wasn't actually whispering, so I had no problems hearing what he said. "What's your point, Viper?"

"Remember how you felt about Po?" I heard her ask in a lower voice than Monkey's. This seemed to have a certain effect on them since they didn't say a word after this. I didn't know who this Po person was, but obviously he had been some kind of newcomer like me.

After a few seconds of silence Viper told me that I could follow them to their village. But not without adding: "But we'll hold onto this for now." And by 'this', she meant my sword. It was as mentioned given to me as an insult, but I had just realized that a wooden weapon was better than no weapon at all.

We were walking through the forest and Tigress had asked me where I came from. I had lied and told them that I came from Gongmen City. I had been in that city before, but only on the harbor and the area around it. You see, the one time that I was there was because the crew had to get some supplies, but that was before my dad started taking a liking in the violent and terminating way of getting supplies, which was the reason why I was where I was. Of course I didn't say it to them, what wouldn't they think about me if I did? Actually, whatever they would think of me wouldn't be a lie, since I'm a pirate.

I also told them that my dad was a very old sailor and that he had tried to fulfill a great task in his days and that he didn't have many days left to live in. I also told them that my goal was to complete that task.

"Oh, I'm sorry about your dad," Viper said. Her voice was full of sympathy, but I didn't really notice… or maybe I just didn't care – life's great questions…

Anyways, I just tried to be polite and said thanks for the sympathy. Then Tigress suddenly asked: "What was this task that he wanted to fulfill?"

Telling the truth would either reveal myself or make them think that I was a son of some weird old sailor with mental problems. Both of which I'd equally hate.

"Well, he wanted to discover the greatest treasure in… the… world…" I started to slow down my stream of words as soon as I realized what I had said. If I could, I would just go back in time and rip my face off to avoid the awkwardness that came now. The three stopped, but didn't say a word. I stopped as well, but I just wished I was even smaller than I already was.

"What?" Monkey asked in a very confused and questionable way. This moment was very embarrassing, since I was sure that I had revealed myself as pirate now.

"Eh… My dad is also a philosopher," I quickly lied. "He spent most of his life wondering about such things…"

Fortunately they seemed to buy it – at least Viper and Monkey seemed to buy it… As long as someone believed in me, I'd have no problems at all – this far.

"So you're trying to fulfill something impossible?" Monkey asked, but was cut off by Viper.

"Monkey!" She seemed to fully respect what I had said – unlike Monkey – and that would just make it easier to gain the others' trust. Who knew? Maybe they'd even become useful in finding that treasure – that was if I could gain their _full_ trust.


	2. Fight!

_The main difference between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives._

**Mark Twain**

* * *

><p>"Why were you even running?" I asked Tigress as we walked through the little forest. We had been walking for about five minutes now, but this forest seemed to be bigger than first expected. None of us had been talking until now and it seemed to take them by surprise. Obviously they hadn't expected me to speak first.<p>

"Well, we were just training," she replied with a straight face, like the one she had most of the time. "It was just a little game of elimination-tag."

Elimination-tag? Having grown up on the sea with no other children around, I didn't know any game by that name – actually I didn't really know any games at all.

I looked over at Viper and Monkey. The two didn't say anything and they didn't seem to pay any attention to the conversation.

"And what's the point of that game?" I asked. The name of the game seemed logical enough, but I tried to buy time to find a way of getting my sword back; Tigress had it in her right hand, but I didn't want to use violence to get it – I mean, what if she tore me to pieces?

"We just try to defeat each other with our Kung Fu Techniques," Viper explained. I hadn't expected her to answer, but Monkey and Tigress didn't seem to be in the mood to talk right now. "If you defeat someone else, they're tagged."

I nodded as if I cared. My mind hadn't come up with any good ideas – only ideas that would probably get me killed by one of these three.

"So, you three know Kung Fu?" I asked as I still tried to buy some time for myself. The more I spoke, the stupider I made myself sound – of course they knew Kung Fu!

But before I could get an answer, some voices were heard up ahead. Now that I was with these three, I didn't feel like it was necessary to go into a fighting-pose, so I kept walking as I patiently waited for whoever it was to come into sight.

Coming towards us were two other animals – a great panda and he was followed by a crane that flew right beside him. The panda was big, kind of chubby-looking and he wore a pair of pants. The crane's only attire was also a pair of pants, but he also had a big hat on his head, which made it very hard – even with night vision – to see his face.

"Ah, there you are guys!" the panda spoke in an eager voice. "You should've seen Crane and Mantis before, it was…!" The panda stopped his steam of words when he noticed my presence. I know lynxes are small, but how could he not notice me?

"Hey, who're you?" he asked me surprised. Now that he stood right in front of me, I was able to see more of his traits.

"I'm Hai," I replied, trying to act cool – cooler than I was. Then I changed my voice to a more questioning one. "Have we met before?"

He seemed awfully familiar somehow, but why? I was sure that I had seen him before…

…

Flashback

…

_"Seriously?" I asked. I stood on a rocky mountain field. The cool mountain air blew softly against my fur. It was night, but I had no idea about what time it was. I wasn't alone – my dad and his crew were there… and so was a bunch of panda-children. The children were tied up by a bunch of strong ropes._

_"Yes, of course," my dad growled with a tone that signaled that he was kind of insulted with my question. "I'm always serious."_

_Unfortunately I knew it was true – he really wanted me to kill these children. The panda children were all very young – about three to seven years old. The grown-ups had managed to escape into the woods nearby and the crew had destroyed most of their village and some of the houses were even on fire._

_To me, the damages weren't that much of a big deal, but killing these children was. My dad is a cold and merciless pirate captain, so he wouldn't have hesitated a second, but he wanted me to be just like him, which was why he wanted me to do… this._

_Soon I was left alone with the comment "Have fun." from my dad. I remember how scared and terrified the panda children looked. Having their lives on my hands kind of felt weird – and uncomfortable. I had never killed anyone before, but starting with children seemed like a harsh start. I knew my dad would do it in no time, but I couldn't do it – they were only children!_

_I still had a sword in each hand and when I walked towards the children, I could see how they became intimidated by every step I took and I could almost feel how their fear became more intense in the air. When I stood less than a meter from them, I sighed deeply. If I let them go, I would spare young lives, but if anyone found out my bad reputation would be ruined._

_I could feel someone's eyes watching me, but I figured that it was probably the grown-up pandas' eyes. They were probably somewhere in the forest and were probably watching me by now._

_I lifted my right sword to slash, but I wasn't aiming for the children in any way; I aimed for the ropes. The children gasped and some of the even screamed, but as soon as they realized what I had done, they ran off into the forest._

_Confused and silent I slowly walked back to the ship. I had been raised to believe that compassion and affection and such were just excuses for weakness. But I didn't know why I hadn't been able to kill the children. Maybe because of compassion…? No, I was probably just tired._

_When I reached the dock the entire crew was waiting for me. Dad stood up front with the rest of his crew behind him. I didn't know what was going on, but dad certainly didn't look happy. Had he found out? Nah, he was probably just tired of waiting. But why would the entire crew stand behind him like this on the dock…?_

_"So… You're already back," my dad said. He had that gleam in his yellow eyes, which signaled that he was mad. My dad is a lynx like me, but he is abnormally big. He wasn't the biggest aboard, but everyone feared him – even the second mate, who was a big and muscular lion._

_"Uh, yeah… I am…" I replied carefully. If he had somehow found out, I wouldn't want to be me after he was done with me. The law said that a traitor had to do whatever the crew could agree on – after they beat him up, of course._

_"Can I see you swords?" dad asked. Whenever he asks something, it's meant as an order and you won't want to live if you disobey._

_I reached for my swords, which were in their sheaths on my back. I drew them both at the same time and held them up._

_"Hmmm… Just as I thought," dad said in an angry tone. "Just as clean as ever."_

_Oh no, I thought. I was doomed now. Why hadn't I thought about this before? Of course he'd know that I hadn't killed anyone if there wasn't any blood on my swords!_

_"Boys," dad growled. "Get him."_

* * *

><p><em>I walked up the mountain path. It was early morning and I had spent the entire night being beaten up by the crew. I hadn't taken any serious injuries, but my leg hurt pretty badly.<em>

_It was morning and I was on my way to fulfill the task the crew had given me. I had no idea where to go to do so, but I had to start somewhere. If I could make it to the Valley of Peace, I might have the chance of getting some supplies for the journey._

_When I passed by the panda village, the pandas all watched me as I walked past their village. They had probably seen what I did last night, but none of them did anything – they just stared at me. I was staring at the ground and at my feet, but suddenly a pair of big, furry feet came into sight._

_I looked up to see a panda. He was almost a half time taller than me and he was covered in white and black fur. He wore some kind green robes, which made him look like the village-leader or whatever. His face looked kind of old and tired, but at the same time, his eyes looked lively like a happy child's._

_"It was you, wasn't it?" he asked. I had no idea what he talked about, but I could feel the other pandas stare at us just then. I didn't know what to say, so I just crossed my arms._

_"Your point is?" I asked, keeping my standard attitude. I could hear some of the pandas whispering. It was probably because this old panda was their leader and they usually talked to him with more respect than I just did – not saying that I cared at all._

_"You were the one who spared the children," he said and spilled the beans. It was just about what happened yesterday? Like I wanted to talk about my life's fail! I had better things to do!_

_"What about it?" I asked, keeping up my challenging and provoking attitude. But somehow it didn't seem to have the desired affect I wanted; the panda simply kept his cool._

_"We wanted to thank you." Then the panda bowed for me in gratitude, but when he looked up again, I had already left. I hadn't gotten that far away and I heard him behind me, telling me to stop._

_"Listen, I don't want you to thank me for what happened last night," I growled without turning around, even though I had stopped._

_Suddenly a big, furry paw landed on my shoulder. When I turned my head I saw a big leather bag that was held up towards me._

_"At least take this then," the panda said. "We saw what happened last night and we heard everything too."_

_They wanted to help me? What was wrong with them? I was part of the crew that had destroyed most of their village and now they wanted to help me? Were they making fun of me or did they seriously want to help me? Either way, I didn't want their help. Technically it was their fault that I was where I was._

_But if that bag was packed with supplies, I would be able to travel for some time without having to steal anything._

_"If it'll make you happy," I muttered and hesitatingly took the bag. It was very light-weight, so obviously it wasn't packed with that much._

_"This is all we can give you, since your crew stole the rest." He chuckled a little and I could see that it was meant as a little playful joke, but I didn't find it funny – at all._

…

Flashback End

…

"No," the panda replied. "I don't think so."

That panda from the mountain village had looked a lot like this panda, except this one was younger and a little thinner (For panda-standards, I guess). But he definitely looked like the panda from the village – not only because they were the same species, but because they shared some traits, for example their noses were almost completely identical. And the way that their arms looked chubby, yet muscular at the same time was also a shared trait between the two.

"So who _are_ you?" I asked the panda then. I didn't get the name of the panda in the village, so it wouldn't really matter if I knew the name of either of them.

"I'm Po," he introduced himself. I then looked at the bird who had joined him with a face that asked the same question.

"Crane," the crane simply replied. He lifted his head a little and I was able to see his face a little better. He had a kind-looking face, so I figured that he was the 'positive' type.

"Mantis." This other voice caught me by surprise. I looked around until I realized that the voice came from a little mantis on Po's shoulder.

"Oh, hi, didn't see you," I apologized. Mantis just raised one of his tiny eyebrows in response, signaling that he was irritated by my obliviousness. It had probably happened before and in that case, it could only annoy him that I failed to notice him too.

"So you're like a little group, or something?" I asked. They seemingly all knew each other and they all – except Po – were named after their species, which I found kind of weird. I mean, all the people I knew – the crewmembers – all had a name that meant something. For an example me: Hai means 'the sea', which makes perfect sense, I guess. I had never met anyone with such… unoriginal names to be honest, but maybe that was just me.

"We're the Furious Five," Po told me proudly. I raised one eyebrow. Not only because they had a 'team name', but because it obviously failed at basic math. They were six, so why not the Furious Six or whatever? But then Po said: "Well, plus me."

That sounds more right: The Furious Five plus Po… but why 'plus Po'? Wasn't he an official member or did he just join recently?

"Hey, Tigress, where'd you get that sword?" Po asked and brought the subject to something else.

"Eh, actually that's…"

"… Something we found in the forest," Tigress interrupted me as I was about to say that it was mine.

"Cool, can I see it?" Po suddenly asked. I did my best to keep my ground. I would usually not like if anyone touched my properties, but here I was outnumbered by these guys.

Po carefully took my sword in his big hands. He held it up and looked closer at it. It wasn't really all that detailed. It's just a plain wood sword that's mainly used for training, so it couldn't be used to hurt anyone. But I have tried to use my frustration on it, but no matter how many times I tried to stomp on it while holding it or slamming it against something hard, it never snapped, so it was made of some unusually strong wood of some sort.

After Po was done looking at my sword and was about to give it back to Tigress, six words somehow managed to escape my mouth by themselves: "Can I have my sword now?"

Po looked lost, Tigress looked like she could kill me right there, Crane, Viper and Monkey looked surprised and Mantis… well, he was too small to judge by now.

"_Your_ Sword?" Crane asked skeptically. "But Tigress just said that she found it."

"Yeah, Tigress wouldn't lie to us," Mantis agreed.

"Sorry to say, but she just did," I informed them all. Suddenly Tigress darted at me with an angry growl – obviously a 'little' bad tempered for a woman. I managed to dodge by stepping aside, but that wasn't enough: I just had to block her legs as she charged forwards, so that she fell onto the ground a meter away from me or so.

I struck a battle pose after that, which only made everyone else do so, since it must've made them see me as a threat. The first to charge me was Mantis. Like a little dash of, whatever insects' outer body is made of, he almost moved too fast for me to see. I knew that these guys knew Kung Fu, so at that point they had the advantage. I only knew about Kung Fu in theory, but I was able to block and dodge most Mantis' attacks, luckily. Soon all six were at it. I avoided punch after punch and kick after kick – as well as strikes from Viper, which I'm kind of unsure what to call.

Suddenly Po tried to use my own sword against me, but obviously he didn't even know how to use a sword, since he held it wrong. The sleek shaft of the sword could easily slip out of his hand. All I had to do was to help it a little.

The big panda charged me, but I jumped forwards and kicked the sword out of his hand. Luckily it didn't fly that high into the air, so I could easily catch it.

Now I had a better chance against the six and I could even defend myself with the sword. When they charged me, I'd slash them with the sword as if it was a real sword, even though the damage wasn't as big – it didn't even give them a wound. But it was better than fist fighting against these guys.

"You're pretty good," I complimented them as we fought. When I tried to hit Tigress with my sword, she blocked it with her hands, which left a hole in her defense open for me: her legs. I held my sword where it was and simply swept her feet away with my own foot.

She landed heavily on her back and I could see how they were all surprised at that 'technique'.

Soon I was up against Crane. The skinny bird smoothly slid through the air as he used his wings and talons to attack me. In contrast to the form of his wings and how wide his feathers made them, he could easily attack with them, as if the feathers weren't even there. He had some pretty sharp moves, but most of his attacks were blocked by my sword.

Suddenly they all joined in, so that they stood around me in a circle. Luckily I'm pretty darn fast, so I didn't take much damage – only a little. I tried to make sure that they hit each other when they punched or kicked at the same time, which was pretty funny, because it made them yell at each other when they hit each other.

Soon I tried to sweep their feet away, but they all jumped into the air. But this didn't mean that I was done for; I simply jumped too and made a spin, so that I hit them all in the head with my sword (I actually hit Mantis' entire body).

"Had enough yet?" I asked when they landed on the ground. They had all landed in awkward poses, so I hoped that it was enough for them. I took one step towards Tigress, since I figured that she was their leader, but suddenly she rose to her feet and was about to attack me once more, but she never got to, since we were interrupted.

"Stop!" Tigress and I were about to hit each other, but we stopped less than one foot from each other. I turned my head to see who had yelled for us to stop. It was just some little panda – not one like Po, but a red panda. He wore some kind of long robe that made him look like a priest of some sort. His ears were almost bigger than his head and he had a long, striped tail.

"What are you doing?" the little panda growled.

"Me?" I asked just to be sure that he wasn't talking to me, but unfortunately he seemed to do so. "Well, I'm just protecting myself…"

"No, how did you manage to defeat them?" The panda asked, surprising me. At first he had seemed to be angry with me, but now it seemed to be because I beat the six. "Do you know Kung Fu?"

I shook my head. "No… Should I?"

At this, the little red panda's eyes widened, as if it would be impossible for me to beat them without knowing Kung Fu. Well, if he hadn't showed up and stopped us, they would probably have beaten me up.

When I was sure that none of them would attack, I put my sword back into the sheath on my back.

"And with a wooden sword," I heard the red panda mutter. He shook his head a little. Suddenly he turned to the six who stood between him and me. "You six, more training. Starting tomorrow."

"Yes, Master," they all said in unison and bowed for their master – all except Po.

"Aw, come on, seriously?" Po asked, but none of the others seemed to complain about more training. Or maybe they just didn't want to disobey their master.

"Of course," the little red panda growled at Po. "He almost defeated you all with a stick!"

I wasn't offended at the fact that he called my sword a stick. I was actually rather proud and on the edge of laughter when I saw Tigress' angry expression. She had trained Kung Fu for years, which I hadn't, but here her master was, saying that I almost beat them with a stick!

"And you; get that smile off your face," the red panda told me when he looked over at me. "Who are you?"

"Just a traveler," I teased the red panda, which only seemed to annoy him – to my joy and amusement. Then with a more serious tone, I said: "My name is Hai."

"And who taught you how to fight?" the red panda asked me. He didn't sound all that curious, but actually rather suspicious. Had he figured out that I was a pirate because of the way I fought?

"My uncle taught me," I lied. I didn't have an uncle and it was actually my dad who had taught me how to wield a sword. But I just had to keep lying so that none of them would eliminate me.


	3. What am I Doing Here?

_Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself._

**Henry Miller**

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I stretched my arms and yawned. I had had the weirdest dream ever. I had stumbled upon some people who called themselves the Furious Five and I had fought against them. It sure had been a realistic dream though.<p>

I opened my eyes and expected to be in some kind of forest, but I found myself sleeping in a small room on a bamboo bed with fabric sheets; exactly where I left off last night.

"So it wasn't a dream," I muttered to myself and got out of bed. I had slept with my clothes on, so I wouldn't need to get dressed before leaving.

I walked over to the door and opened it, but when I was about leave, I almost stepped on the red panda from yesterday. Even _he_ was real enough.

"Good morning… slept well?" I wasn't really able to tell if he actually meant it or if he was testing me out here.

"Uh… yeah…" I replied a little hesitating. "I guess…"

Now that it was day, I was finally able to see with my color vision. The robe he wore had a boring, brownish color, but onto that he also wore a jade green shawl, which looked nicer. His fur was red and white and his long tail was red and white striped. Actually his fur was mainly white, which might have been because of old age.

"So… where are the others?" I asked to break the awkward silence that came next.

"Training of course," the panda replied. Then he started walking down the barracks' hall. "Follow me."

Soon the panda and I walked down a stone staircase outside. I had of course walked up the staircase yesterday, but it had been at night and I was so tired that I didn't even notice the view at that time. From up here there was a clear view out over the entire valley and the many mountains surrounding it. The morning sun shone all over the valley and gave the mountains a beautiful color. Far below us, at the end of long staircases, was the village I had tried to get to. Last night we hadn't even walked through the village, but directly up here.

When we reached the end of the stony staircase, we came to a gate, which led to some kind of front porch. It was a pretty big area and it was surrounded by walls and what to me seemed to be spectator seats or something. Come to think of it, it reminded me of a battle arena.

"So what exactly is this place?" I asked. I hadn't had the time to ask yesterday, since we had all headed directly for bed.

"The Jade Palace," the red panda answered in his low, calm voice. I followed him as he walked towards a big hall. I could hear a lot of noise from behind the door, so I guessed that it was the training-hall. Without a word, the red panda opened the door and stepped inside. I followed close behind him and soon we stood in a big room. The smell of blood and sweat was overwhelming and the temperature in here was very high.

Then I noticed the training mechanisms. There was this tortoise-like thing that Tigress and Crane were fighting on. It seemed like something to train your balance with. It had a narrow edge and I was impressed at how Tigress was able to stand on it and fight, even though her feet seemed too broad to stand on it.

Next there were these big wooden things with something that looked like weapons extending from them. For some reason they kept rotating at a very high speed as if someone made them do it. But since I wasn't able to see who it was, I guessed that it was Mantis.

And then there were Monkey and Po who fought on some kind of spiral-like logs, which rotated while they stood on them. I must've underestimated the panda, since he actually seemed to know what he was doing. Suddenly I noticed that there were some swinging clubs hanging from the ceiling and they swung back and forth very close to Po and Monkey.

I couldn't see Viper anywhere at first, but then I noticed an area in the back of the room where Viper jumped and swirled around to avoid flames. The way she avoided the flames was very graceful, almost like a ribbon-dancer, but it also looked fierce at the same time as if she was trying to slash someone.

The red panda then snapped his tiny fingers. The sound that came out of it was surprisingly loud and seemed to fill the entire room. All the students stopped whatever they were doing and soon they all stood in front of their master and bowed for him in respect.

The six seemed surprised to see me and Tigress didn't seem too happy about my presence. But what could you do? I can't help the way I am… and the fact that I _almost_ kicked their butts yesterday.

For the first time I was able to see them and their clothes in their full color. Po had of course had black and white fur and his pants were brown. Tigress had a fiery orange colored fur with black stripes and a little white fur here and there on her face. Her vest was red with golden flower patterns. She also wore black pants and there was also a brown robe around her waist.

Monkey had a golden fur, almost the same color as wood is under the bark, but his face wasn't covered in fur, so I was able to see his black skin. He wore a pair of dark brown pants and had a leathery wristband on each wrist.

Next up was Crane who wore a pair of blue pants and he still had his hat on. Now I was able to see that his feathers were mainly white, but also black on his wings, tail feathers, his long neck and his face.

Viper was covered in scales that seemed to have a color somewhere in between green and yellow. On her back she had some dark patterns that, oddly enough, looked like kanji and the end of her tail was completely black.

And lastly there was Mantis who was… green… Like Viper, he didn't actually wear anything, other than robes tied around his legs.

I still didn't really know what I was doing in the training hall; I had better things to do, such as finding the treasure. So was I just brought here to watch them train or what?

"Students," the red panda started. "Today we'll have Hai joining you."

"WHAT?" Everyone but the red panda looked like a question mark. Tigress and Monkey even looked shocked and so did I.

"But Master Shifu…" Tigress started, but her master interrupted her.

"He will, whether you like it or not." Suddenly Master Shifu put his hand behind his back and when it came into sight again, he had my sword.

"Hey, where'd you get that from?" I asked and crossed my arms. I was surprised. Not really because he had it for some reason, but because I didn't remember bringing it here this morning and somehow Shifu had been able to hide it. My sword was almost twice as long as Shifu himself, so he couldn't have hidden it under his robes. Had he taken it from me while I was asleep?

"I just wanted to try it out." Shifu's straight face and calm voice revealed nothing, so I had no idea about what he'd been up to. Then I noticed that there was dirt on my sword. Had he been trying to see what it was capable of?

"Fortunately I wasn't able to break it," Shifu told me as he handed it to me.

"I know," I said as I put it back into its sheath on my back where it belonged. "Nothing can break it."

I saw the six look at each other with faces that signaled that they didn't really buy it. I couldn't blame them for that; I mean, it was made of _wood_ after all.

"Oh really?" Shifu raised an eyebrow as he said this. "What about showing us what you can do?"

"Out there?" I took another look at the training mechanisms. There were more than I had described and it didn't really look like anything I'd survive for more than two minutes. That is, if I had to fight like they did – with honor and without taking advantage of the situation... Heck no, I'd fight like a pirate! I'd be cheating more than they'd get to do in a lifetime!

"Yes… is that a problem for you?" Shifu asked as if I had finally given up.

"No, it's just that history might repeat itself out there," I teased them with a little smile. None of them seemed to like it though, which is understandable.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?" Po asked me as he and I took places on the metallic tortoise. "I also had a tough time when I started here."<p>

I didn't really care that much, since I'd probably be fine… hopefully.

"Ready?" I heard Shifu ask. Po and I had barely nodded before the sound of a gong was heard.

I quickly drew my sword as Po delivered the first punch. It hit my right cheek and almost made me fall over the edge, but luckily our weight-differences gave me more balance, since Po's weight made the tortoise tip a little.

Po seemed to hesitate a little, but when the next punch approached, I used my sword to block it by grabbing both ends and making sure that Po hit the wooden blade.

The blade didn't even seem to take any of the impact, but Po did. He quickly shook his hand to get the pain away. I had expected more from a Kung Fu Master, but maybe this would be easy.

"So you think you're something? Huh, you do? Okay give me what you've got, come on." I raised my eyebrow and looked at Po in question and I even heard someone slap their forehead.

"Uh… Yeah… can we get back to this now?" I asked him and crossed my arms. Just as I said so, Po tried to kick me, but his leg wasn't nearly long enough to reach me. Insert "That awkward moment when you try to kick someone with your short panda-legs".

Luckily my sword made it easier to reach Po and attack him, even though he was able to block most of my attacks, plus all his fat made it hard to cause any damage to him.

I could feel how the others watched us, which was kind of bothering. If I didn't finish this soon, they'd keep watching. And if Po finished it, I wouldn't have much dignity left… I guess.

Just as I dodged another punch, I remembered how short Po's legs were. Those could be his weakness. I was about to sweep them away, but suddenly Crane jumped onto the tortoise and I was outnumbered.

Crane's long talons had a perfect grip on the tortoise's edge, so it would be hard to get him off. When the two started attacking me, I realized that I would have to cheat to win. I then pretended to go after Po's chest, but changed direction midair and slammed Crane in his head and made his hat fall off. It seemed to surprise everyone and Crane even had to support himself by using Po's shoulder. Then I saw my chance and jumped. I landed back on the edge again, but the tortoise started to tilt dangerously due to the change in weight. I case you're wondering what I was up to, I just tried to make Crane and Po fall off with the help of Po's massive weight compared to mine. When I jumped and landed the second time, the result was unexpected. Somehow I made Po jump as well and when he landed it sent me into the air. I could feel everyone look at me and their faces probably looked surprised.

I wasn't even near the ceiling and the rings hanging from it, but when I was in the air, I realized that I would fall down into those wooden training mechanisms. It was like everything went in slow-motion. I was able to turn my head and see the others. Po and Crane stared in surprise and the rest did as well. Shifu then snapped his finger, which also seemed to go in slow-motion, but when Mantis reacted to it, he dashed against the training mechanisms under me. Even though everything else seemed to be in slow-motion, Mantis seemed to move at very high speed.

As soon as Mantis entered the wood mechanisms, they started rotating in a big mess of wood and metal. As soon as most of them were rotating, time returned to normal and I fell headfirst into the mechanisms.

Suddenly everything was a mess of wood and pain. I was in the middle of the training mechanisms and they all rotated uncontrolled and I was hit various places every seconds. I tried my best not to move, but it was pretty hard since Mantis' kicks and punches made me fall into the mechanisms and activate them all the time. I had no idea about where my sword was and I didn't know what to do. I would be lucky just to survive this.

When the movement of the wood-things finally seemed to dim down I tried to keep myself low, so that I wouldn't get hit in the head – rather get hit in my legs than my head. And right there in front of me was my sword!

But just as I saw my sword, Mantis attacked me. The little insect gave me a few punches and kicks before making the mechanisms go crazy again – and I can tell you: in contrast to his size, he could deliver a hard kick! Just as they all started to rotate, I threw myself forwards through all the wood and landed right in front of my sword. I picked it up with no hesitation and then stayed down till the mechanisms had stopped moving. I got back up again and just as expected, Mantis tried to attack again. This time though, I was ready: I used my sword to send Mantis flying to the opposite end of the room when he tried to kick me. I couldn't see him because of the training gear, but I could hear his impact with the wall.

But the hard things weren't over: When I left the wood mechanisms, I was up against Tigress. She jumped onto one of those weird wooden spiral-things and signaled for me that she was ready – ready to (Hopefully) lose.

I ran over and jumped on to one of the spirals, even though I was very exhausted. But standing on here was more complicated than I first anticipated; it slid away from under your feet and if your foot-grip was too tight you'd rotate with it and eventually fall down.

But Tigress didn't seem to have any problems with it – she had probably trained her entire life or whatever, while I had only been here for minutes.

"What are you doing here?" Tigress asked me as she tried to punch me off the wooden spiral we stood on. I tried to dodge it, but Tigress hit my ear, which I would prefer over my nose.

"I'm just a traveler," I told her and tried to attack her with my sword. She blocked my attacks, but maybe I wouldn't have to really fight her; maybe pushing her off would be enough.

"Yeah, that's what you said," she growled at me and charged me again. I just barely ducked when she swiped after me, but this made me lose balance and fall over.

I had the feeling that Tigress would be overjoyed to defeat me after what happened yesterday, but I saw one last chance of winning: I grabbed the nearest object I could to hold me up, which probably wasn't a good idea. That object was Tigress' tail.

I heard the others gasp in surprise as I used Tigress' tail to pull myself back up, while I also tried to make her fall.

I only succeeded on pulling myself up and Tigress still stood where she was. Then she raged at me and started going on me mercilessly. She seemed uncontrollably angry and I was starting to get afraid that she'd actually kill me unless I did something.

The objects that swayed back and forth near us had spikes on one side. But the other side seemed safe enough. If I could jump onto it, then maybe I could get away from her… besides, I didn't like that I stood on something that was moving.

I prepared myself to jump onto one of them and grab the chain that held it up, but Tigress gave me a massive punch in the head that sent me flying. I fell out right in front of the wooden object, but luckily I was hit by the flat side. After that, everything became darkness.


	4. Master Lynx?

_A hero is a man who does what he can._

**Romain Rolland**

* * *

><p>"Hai, are you okay?" I opened my eyes. I was back in the barrack where I had spent the previous night. Only difference was that I had warm covers over me.<p>

I looked around to see that someone stood leaned above me and looked down on me. My vision was a little blurry, so I couldn't actually see who it was clearly.

I tried to sit up, but my entire body hurt. What had happened? Oh yeah, I had been hit by one of those wooden things in the training hall. My body was sore and numb not only from the impact, but also from all the punches and kicks that Tigress had hit me with.

"You really should rest," the other person told me. After a while I was able to see that it was Viper. She had a concerned look on her face and suddenly I noticed a weird smell in the room. It kind of smelled like some sort of flower mixed with rainwater.

"I don't care," I informed her. "Help me up here."

"What's the magic word?" she asked in a provoking and a little stern voice.

I sighed, slightly annoyed. "Please?"

"You're lucky you didn't hit the other side of the Swinging Club," she sighed and helped me sit up. My body still hurt, but that wasn't important. Now I had to go get the treasure. After that, I could start taking care of myself; if I didn't get the treasure, there wouldn't be anything left to take care of. I pushed the covers away from my chest and tried to sit up with Viper's help.

When I sat up, I noticed that my body was wrapped in bandages. Maybe my injuries had been worse than first expected. The bandages were bound a little tight and they were kind of moist and warm on the inside, which felt kind of nice. The smell I described before also seemed to come from these bandages.

"Don't worry," Viper said when I looked down at myself with a shocked face. "They're only for making the pain sustain."

I didn't really wear anything, so when I pushed the covers away, Viper turned the other way to give me some privacy. I sat on the edge of the bed for a few seconds as I tried to regain focus and balance. When I felt better I tried to stand up. My body still hurt, but at least I was able to stand.

"You really should rest," Viper repeated herself as I looked for my clothes. My old clothes were gone, but there were some seemingly new clothes by the bed. Not feeling like I had an option, I took them on, leaving the bandages.

First up there was a blue, sleeveless Kung Fu vest. It had black trims and I took it on and closed it with the help of the small metal fasteners. The pants were plain black and when I had all the clothes on, I was surprised at the fact that it fit me perfectly. Only problem was that it looked like Tigress' outfit.

The only differences were that her trim to open her vest was more curved downwards, but mine was a little straighter. Also, my outfit didn't come with a robe to put around my waist.

Tigress' clothes were for training, but did Shifu expect me to stay here and train or what? I really didn't have time for that!

"I suppose you want you sword too," Viper said. I had almost forgotten about that. I took a look around the room, but my sword was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay, where is it?" I asked, slightly annoyed. "Did Tigress take it again?"

"Hmmm… No," Viper said. It was obvious that she didn't like the way that I talked about her friend. "It's still in the Training Hall."

Before Viper could stop me, I was on my way to the Hall. It was around sunset when I got outside and I was just able to see a few stars in the sky, so it would soon be night. I made my way across the Training Hall's courtyard and towards the hall. I opened the door and stomped inside with an annoyed face on. If I would leave now, I'd at least let them know.

But… this wasn't the Training Hall. It was another big hall with tall pillars that reached from floor to ceiling and had jade green, sculpted dragons swirled around them. The floor was covered in smooth tiles and there were all sorts of armament on each of the halls sides. I closed the door and walked over to the left side of the hall. The thing that had caught my eye was a massive, metallic sword. It seemed to be a double blade somehow and it had a relatively small handle, but I'd probably still be able to wield it and even have space for a few more fingers – if I had those. There was also a dragon on it, which was painted with red paint or maybe it was even forged in with cobber or another type of metal. I looked up and saw that there was some painting above it, but who cared about that?

When I continued down both of the hall's sides, there was a lot of stuff. There were more paintings and weapons, but something that caught my attention was a circular pool at the end of the hall.

I walked up to it and looked into it. There were some small flower petals on the surface and the water was a little unclear, due to the fact that some wind was blowing the petals around, so that rings occurred on the water's surface. But the pool seemed to be very deep.

Suddenly I noticed something on the bottom of the pool. It was shiny and had a golden color to it. It seemed to be something of great value, so maybe it was just what I sought!

_Yeah, that makes totally sense!_ I thought with excitement. _The greatest treasure in the world can only be something golden!_

But how did I get it up? I'm a pretty good swimmer, but that pool seemed to be awfully deep.

"Found something interesting?" I almost fell into the pool in surprise. I looked behind me and saw Shifu standing there. He had a serious face on and probably wasn't too happy about my presence in this hall.

"Well… Yes… I mean, no… eh…" I was a little unsure of what to say. If I said 'yes,' then he might throw me out because he'd see me as a thief – who I am. But if I said no, he'd probably throw me out anyways, since I'd seem like a person who didn't have respect for anything – which also is who I am.

"Why are you in here?" Shifu almost growled at me.

"I just went wrong," I informed him. For once I told the truth. "I thought this was the Training Hall."

"Why didn't you just leave right away?" Shifu asked just as suspiciously as before. "I guess you were able to see that it wasn't the training hall."

"Oh, that's why this place wasn't filled with death traps," I said sarcastically. "I couldn't even tell!"

It was very obvious that Shifu didn't like the way that I talked to him now. The old panda had an eyebrow raised as if he was wondering if I had just said what I had. I can't deny that I liked it.

"Hmmm… But what would you do in the training hall?" Then something that looked like hope came into Shifu's eyes. "Were you going to train?"

"No…" I didn't understand why that would make him happy, but I wasn't sorry about disappointing him. "I went to get my sword. I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Shifu asked. He was obviously very surprised by my answer. It was also obvious that he hadn't expected it.

"Yes, I have a job to do," I told him and started walking away.

I didn't get far until Shifu had zipped over and stood in front of me again. I stopped and then he said: "You can't just leave!"

"Says who?" I asked as provoking as possible and crossed my arms. Maybe he'd let me go if I provoked him to death.

"I do…" Shifu growled at me.

"And why do you do that?" I asked as provoking as possible.

Unfortunately Shifu seemed to ignore it and said: "I wanted to find out why you were able to defeat the Five without any knowledge of Kung Fu… But since they defeated you in the second round…"

"Technically _they_ didn't…"

"Since _Tigress_ defeated you…" Shifu corrected himself, even though I wouldn't admit that she did. Then he continued: "You might not be as good as I thought."

I could hear that he was testing me out, but I fell for it. "What? Oh no, I'm so on! I can beat that little kitten, just …"

"So you're staying?" Shifu asked.

"… No, I just can't…" I walked past him and this time he didn't try to stop me. Obviously he had seen the seriousness in my eyes and really understood that I couldn't. But who cared about Shifu as long as I got to get the treasure and make my dad happy? He would be happy and I would keep my life! Couldn't be better! Now I just needed to get my sword and then I'd be long gone!

* * *

><p>I walked through the village as I tried to find a place where I could get some supplies. I didn't have any money, so don't expect me to like… buy it or something. The sun was almost setting and all the shops in this village would probably be closed by nightfall, but that wouldn't make any difference, though.<p>

Most of the villagers all seemed to be pigs, geese and rabbits. Some of the streets were more crowded than others, but I finally saw something that looked like some kind of marketplace. There were many people here and there were a few stands with lots of different stuff; food, clothes and almost whatever you'd want. It wasn't as much as the marketplaces in Gongmen City, but there was still a pretty big selection of supplies.

I walked past various stands as I took a closer look at the wares that were sold. It all seemed nice and good, so I just had to wait till they closed for the day… then I'd be getting my supplies in my own way.

A few people did stare at me, since I was a lynx and kind of stood out from the crowd. Or maybe it was my sword, which was back in its sheath. The sheath hung in a strap, which went down from my right shoulder to the left side of my torso. It was made of brown, soft leather and it wasn't uncomfortable to wear.

As I waited for nightfall, I just walked around and tried to act like everyone else. The valley was already getting pretty dark, even though the sun hadn't descended completely yet. It was probably because of the tall mountains surrounding it.

Suddenly I heard a lot of noise. I looked over at a bridge that led over a little river that flowed all the way through the village. I saw a bunch of big wolverines make their way across the bridge. They wore some heavy-looking, metallic armor and they had some big wooden clubs with metallic spikes on. The only thing that bothered me was that they were seemingly heading towards some children on the middle of the marketplace. I didn't want to do anything that was unnecessary, so I just pretended to randomly walk past the children.

They were all small rabbits and it looked like they were training Kung Fu. They were very young and barely reached me to the waist if you didn't count their ears into their height.

The wolverines stood there and were seemingly discussing something. As I pretended to slowly walk by, I overheard them say something about Kung Fu and extermination. Didn't sound too good.

The wolverines took one step towards the children, but an adult rabbit and a pig got in their way. I just stood where I was with my back towards the wolverines as I just listened and waited for what would happen next.

"Who are you?" the pig asked. Her voice sounded stern and not afraid at all, even though the wolverines were heavily armored.

"We're sent here to stop everyone who practices Kung Fu," one of the wolverines replied. He had a deep and dark-sounding voice. The answer had surprised me a little. I turned my head upwards and looked up at the Jade Palace. The palace was only built for Kung Fu Masters and if the wolverines got there… But now the lives of innocents were more important.

"Who sent you?" the rabbit asked. He sounded a little more intimidated than his pig friend, but that was probably because of what the wolverine had just said.

"Emperor Zhu," the wolverine replied. I had never heard of any emperor by that name, but that didn't matter. Why would an emperor want to exterminate Kung Fu? Anyone with a brain would know that Kung Fu could beat up bad people if they attacked their city or village.

"Never heard of him," the pig said after a few seconds of silence. Obviously she wasn't afraid of the wolverines.

"He's the emperor of Shan City," another wolverine replied. "And soon the emperor of all China."

China is a huge country, so becoming the emperor of the entire country would take a lot. But obviously this Zhu was a coward who just sent his men out to beat up innocent people who couldn't protect themselves, so that they'd give in to him. I felt like I had to stop those wolverines. Not because I really wanted to help the villagers, but because I didn't want some idiot to conquer China.

I heard the squad of wolverines take a few steps towards the villagers and the rabbit children. I turned around and approached the wolverines.

"Why don't you take on someone on your own level?" I asked them. Ironically I barely reached them to their shoulders.

The wolverines turned around and looked down on me, which made me doubt that this had been a good idea.

"Okay, can you tell us where we can him?" the wolverine in the front asked, which triggered a loud laugh from the rest.

"Oh, he's right here," I informed them and crossed my arms. I looked behind the wolverines to see that the small rabbits had fled along with the pig and the grown up rabbit.

The wolverines also laughed at this comment, but eventually realized that I wasn't joking. Suddenly one of them said: "Hey, you're that wanted pirate, aren't you?"

Oh no, I thought. Now I was for sure going to die. If they knew I was a pirate and if they worked for an emperor, they wouldn't hold back on me.

"Yeah, sure looks like him…" another wolverine agreed. "What was his name?"

"Wasn't it Hai Zei or something?" a third wolverine asked.

Soon they all raised their weapons, obviously ready to attack. I took one step backwards and pulled my sword and pointed it towards them to show that I was ready to fight, but instead of charging me, they started laughing. I had totally forgotten that it was a wooden sword.

After a few seconds I jumped forwards and slammed the wooden blade of my sword into one of the wolverines' head. It didn't cause any gore or injury, but it was probably the biggest slap he'd ever had.

When the wolverines realized that I was serious and really wanted to fight with a wooden sword, they all charged me.

I charged forwards too and used my sword to block their wooden clubs. As mentioned, they had metallic spikes on them, but it didn't seem to make the least difference on the impact with my sword. It seemed to surprise them, but they weren't slow to try and get me again.

Luckily, the weight of their clubs obviously made them hard to swing, so they weren't that much of a challenge to avoid.

"Is this the best you've got, dummies?" I asked after avoiding another swing with a club.

I blocked another club, but was hit in the back by another. The impact had been just about as painful as I'd imagined, due to the metal spikes, but luckily I didn't start to bleed… that much.

"Who do you call a dummy, stupid pirate?" the wolverine asked, but before he could continue, I jumped up and kicked him in the face. Watching the Five fight actually seemed to pay off.

"You all," I added when I hit another wolverine in the face with my sword.

Soon, the wolverines tried to corner me and I walked backwards across the marketplace. The villagers were all watching and they seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation and some of them even packed up their stuff and fled to safety.

I saw a villager who sold wok food to my left. I hurried over, picked up one of his woks and asked: "Do you mind?"

Without waiting for an answer, I took the wok and hurled it at the nearest wolverine. It was still very hot from roasting wok and there was still food on it, which set of damp, due to the heat.

The wolverine I had hit yelped in pain as the hot metal pan came in contact with his face. Maybe it was just me, but I found it hilarious.

The wolverine, who had seemed to be the leader of this squad, charged me with his club above his head, ready to hit me.

I ducked and jumped to the right, so that I was out of danger… at least from his club. The next club came towards my face, but suddenly it rapidly changed direction in mid air.

The wolverine stumbled backwards and his squad also stopped moving and looked at me in surprise as if I had anything to do with what just happened… like I could make people have muscle-spasms on demand!

Suddenly four dashes of fur, feathers and scales raced in and attacked the wolverine squad.

I crossed my arms and watched as the Furious Five entered the scene and attacked the wolverines.

"G-… guys… wait… up…" I turned my head and saw a very sweaty and exhausted Po come crawling into the scene with much less style than his comrades.

"Are you okay?" I asked without removing my eyes from the battle.

Po took a few exhausted gasps and then he finally said: "Yes… I'm fine… Let's do this!

Soon we were all fighting in small teams; Mantis and Viper fought together, Monkey and Po teamed up too, Crane fought alone and I had the doubtable honor of fighting alongside Tigress.

I just used my sword and my surrounding (The stands on the marketplace and whatever was sold there) to defend myself, but Tigress fought with a great display of aggression, which she added to her Kung Fu skills and now I could see that she was only holding back when she fought against me; if it wasn't because she was one of the 'good' guys, she'd probably kill these wolverines and if she had given me all she had when we fought against each other, I'd be dead by now.

The way that she punched and kicked the wolverines and slammed them into each other was kind of scary actually… I mean, what if she ever did that to me?

Talking about me, Tigress suddenly turned to me and said: "Hai, Double Death Strike!"

"Say what?" But before I could get an answer, she grabbed my arm, swung me around and used me as her dummy-weapon to beat the wolverines up. It had taken me completely by surprise and I was just as unprepared as the wolverines.

She finally let go of me and I was about to attack again, but suddenly she grabbed me by the leg instead.

"Hey, what are you doing? Tigress!" I yelled as she dragged me across the marketplace towards the nearest wolverines. I had extended my claws and they were sliding across the bricks under us and left long claw-marks. "Are you even listening?"

But obviously she didn't. She swung me towards a wolverine with full force. My head hit him in the chest – which was protected by metallic armor. The only reason why I didn't pass out from the impact was because Tigress prepared to swing me again, this time trying to make me hit his head, but I ducked and he was hit by my sword instead, which I preferred. Soon he was knocked out, but she wasn't done with me yet.

"Never, _EVER_ do that again," I told Tigress when she let go of me after knocking out a few other wolverines.

"Why not? It seemed to be effective," she replied.

After that, we continued to fight, but Tigress wasn't blind for throwing around with the wolverines so she 'accidentally' was close to hitting me the whole time.

"What is your problem?" I asked as I sent a wolverine flying into a stand on the marketplace.

"You," I heard her say as I kicked another wolverine in the head as he charged me with his club. The impact sent him backwards and he dropped his club, which I gladly picked up so that I could use it to my own advantage.

"Me? What did I do wrong?" I asked in a sarcastic tone as I used the newly achieved club to block another wolverine's club, while I used my sword to attack him, while he couldn't use his own weapon.

"Everything…" She knocked down a wolverine. "The way you fight." A second wolverine almost hit me as she sent him flying. "And the way you disrespect Master Shifu."

I ignored what she had just said and soon all the wolverines were down. I was actually impressed with myself, since I was able to help them defeat those dummies… but I still think that I could have done it alone.

"How did you manage to start a fight like that?" Crane asked me when the wolverines had run off. They were beat up by us and Monkey had snatched their clubs, so that they couldn't do any harm to anyone.

"They threatened some children," I informed them in a serious tone.

"Children?" Po asked. "Why children?"

I shrugged. "I think it was because they were practicing Kung Fu or whatever…" I held a short pause as they all tried to understand what had happened. "They work for some guy… I forgot his name, but he wants to kill anyone who practices Kung Fu."

There was a minute of silence where Po and the Five just looked at each other in question, since it was probably hard to believe.

But Po was the one breaking the silence: "It's not really that original."

I raised an eyebrow and the others sighed and Tigress even slapped her forehead at his comment.

"What? Come on, you know I'm right," Po said. If Po was right about this, then this emperor couldn't be that great, since he copied something someone else had done, or tried to do, before him.

But before we could discuss the subject, the villagers came out from their hides. They had probably seen us fight and now they were cheering for us. It felt a little weird, since I was used to the fact that people weren't happy about my presence, since… well, I think we all know why.

Then all of sudden I heard a chanting: "Master Lynx. Master Lynx. Master Lynx."

I looked around with a surprised expression on my face. Did they think I was a Kung Fu Master? But they had been watching! How could they not know that I didn't even know Kung Fu? Suddenly all the villagers were chanting. You know what? I actually kind of liked it and I couldn't help but smile wide as I put my sword back into its sheath.

I turned my head to look at the others. They were all smiling… except Tigress, who obviously thought I didn't deserve this. But who cared about her right now?

"Come on," I told her out of the corner of my mouth, trying not to make it visible that I spoke. "Smile, Kitty."

This wasn't a smart thing to call Tigress. In a matter of seconds she jumped me with a roar.

I fell onto my back and she sat on my chest with the claws on her right hand extended, while she used her left hand to hold me down. I did my best to struggle free, but she was strong enough to keep my down with one hand.

"Don't you ever call me that again, or I'll…" she growled at me, but before she could come with her death threats, the others grabbed her arms and pulled her away from me.

* * *

><p>This chapter was a lot of work and actually longer than first planned, so I hope you like it! ^^<br>As always, please leave a review if you like it! :D


	5. I Believe I Can Fly! Or Not

_Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway._

**Mary Kay Ash**

* * *

><p>"Was it really necessary to act like that, Tigress?" Viper asked as we all walked up the staircases that led to Jade Palace. The stairs hadn't been fun on the way down and it felt even harder to walk up.<p>

"It was his own fault," Tigress replied, glaring at me. I just walked with my arms crossed, with a teasing smile on my face, satisfied with the fact that I managed to make her angry, which was all some good fun.

"Was not," I muttered, even though I knew it was true… and I loved it!

"Can you guys… please wait up?" We all looked behind us to see Po. Obviously he wasn't in as good shape as I first had thought, since he already seemed to be exhausted, even though we weren't even half-way.

The others sighed, since this obviously happened on a regular basis. We all stopped and waited for Po to catch up with us. To me it appeared odd that he was a Kung Fu Master if he couldn't even walk up a staircase. I thought walking the staircase was pretty hard too, but I didn't need breaks at least. I know a saying about men and staircases, but I'll just keep it, since it's definitely not a T-rated saying.

"At least he didn't ask for a snack break," I heard Monkey chuckle as we kept going after five seconds or so.

"So those guys," Viper started after a while of walking. "What exactly did they tell you?"

I shrugged as we kept going. "Not that much… Not more than I already told you."

"Did they say why?" Crane asked.

I shook my head. "No… don't think so… other than the fact that some idiot wants to rule China."

"Did you get his name?" Viper asked.

"Yeah… Zhu or something…" I said carelessly. Then I added: "I think… why?"

"Because Master Shifu might know what to do if his goons return," Viper replied as we kept going.

"That thing you said back there…" I said to Po. "… The thing about that destroying Kung Fu wasn't original… What did you mean?"

"A few months ago," Po started. "We fought against this guy, Lord Shen… You know him?"

"No," I replied as we kept walking.

"Well, he had a similar plan," Po continued. "He had this kind of weapon created which shot fireworks and his plan almost succeeded."

"What was his motif?" I asked. "Did he want to rule all China too?"

Po then informed me that this Shen-guy's intentions were caused because he was somehow abandoned from Gongmen City, but wanted to rule it. If he was such a bad guy, he had probably returned after I had been there, since the city had seemed to be nice back when I was there.

"So that's it?" I asked when Po was done explaining.

Po nodded. He didn't seem to feel comfortable talking about it, so I thought that it was best to not talk about it for now.

Soon Viper asked why I had really started the fight, as if she didn't believe what I had said earlier.

"As I said, it was because those idiots were threatening some children," I replied, slightly annoyed. I mean, why wouldn't they trust me by now…? Actually I think we all know the answer to that question.

"Really?" Tigress asked as if she was surprised with my answer. "Didn't think you were that kind of person."

"What kind of person did you think I was then?" I asked her in a provoking voice.

"At least not a hero," she replied with her calmest voice. "Or anyone who would do something good towards someone other than himself."

I stopped at this. It really made me angry that she thought I was just some kind of selfish jerk. But deep inside, I knew she was right. A pirate is a pirate and no one could ever change that; not even myself.

But instead I said: "At least I know how to behave properly and how to control my temp-…"

I had obviously hit as soft spot, since the next thing I knew was that a strong paw was holding tightly around my throat. I was pushed a few steps backwards (Sideways on the staircase).

Tigress then brought her face close to mine; her nose was practically touching mine.

"If you ever say that again, I'll make you wish you were never born." Her death threats sounded very serious, but they were water compared to what my dad sometimes told his enemies.

"Tigress…" Viper said and tried to make her friend let go of me. But the angry tigress had a firm grip around my throat. I looked into her orange eyes. All I really saw was anger, but also something that looked like sorrow and sadness. Maybe this hadn't been a good subject to tease her with.

Tigress finally let go of me when she realized that I had seen the sadness in her eyes, probably not wanting to admit that I _had_ hit a soft spot on the tough tigress.

After that, Tigress stomped all the way up to Jade Palace without us. The others didn't make any attempts to stop her, but simply watched her leave. After a few seconds of silence they all threw a blaming look on me.

"What?" I asked. I didn't get their problem here.

"Did you really have to say that?" Crane asked me. It was obvious that it hadn't been a good idea to say it to her. All I really wanted was just to tease her, but obviously I had also hurt her somehow.

I just told them that it wasn't really my intention to make her angry – at least not this angry. They all sighed at my comment, but soon we were continuing up the staircase.

When we reached the top we were met by Shifu. He just stood there with a serious look on his face as the moonlight shone down and almost was reflected by his white fur.

"I've just received a letter from Storming Ox," Shifu explained. I didn't know who he was talking about, but maybe it was worth listening to.

"What does it say?" Mantis asked. He was still sitting on Monkey's right shoulder like some kind of little statue of some sort.

"Evil troops are coming in from the north," Shifu explained. "They…"

"… Want to destroy Kung Fu," we all said in unison. "We know."

Shifu then raised his white eyebrow. "Really, how?"

The others just looked over at me, which probably meant that they wanted me to tell it, because they probably held _me_ responsible for starting the fight. But hey, if I hadn't passed by the wolverines, would we know about this now? _Heck no!_

"Well, that's because…" I didn't even get to finish my sentence, because soon I was interrupted by the sound of the palace's gates opening.

"… he started a fight in the village," a voice said. I looked behind Shifu and saw that it was Tigress. She seemed to be back to her hardcore self again, but she still talked down on me.

"Yes, that's why," I said trying my best to sound sarcastic and annoyed at the same time. "Thanks for remembering, Tigress."

"You, what?" This was like the second time I had seen Shifu upset; the first time was when I beat up Po and the Five after we first met. Well, actually the third, if you count the time I first tried to leave the Palace.

"Hey, they were threatening some children who were training Kung Fu," I informed him, trying to defend myself. "Should I have ignored that?"

Shifu didn't reply, but just started muttering something to himself. I looked at the others in question and they looked at me in question as well.

"That's it," Shifu said. "We need to leave… and the villagers too."

This took me completely by surprise and the others too. They were only five (I exclude Tigress and me, since we said nothing at this point), but they sounded like a big crowd when they started complaining about the idea that their master had come up with.

"But Master Shifu," Po said. "Why can't we just beat them and show them not to mess with Kung Fu?"

"Because Po," Shifu growled. "If they bring an army, the entire valley would be in danger. We're leaving… tomorrow morning. It's us they're really after."

I looked at the Five and Po. Tigress had a straight face; Po had a disappointed face; Viper had an expressionless face; Monkey had a chocked face; Crane had an obedient face; Mantis seemed to have an obedient face as well. I understood why they freaked out, since _I_ wouldn't like an entire army to destroy my home or anything.

* * *

><p>I looked into the pool of dark water in front of me. I was a good swimmer, but I was a little unsure if this was even a good idea. But if it really was the greatest treasure in the world, then the golden object would be worth diving for… or not.<p>

I sighed and looked upwards and stretched my back and prepared myself to jump into the pool. But what was that?

I hadn't noticed it before, but there was seemingly some kind of golden dragon-statue hanging from the ceiling. In its mouth it had something that looked like a tube of some sort – which was also golden.

"What the…?"

"It's the Dragon Scroll," I heard a voice say. I quickly turned around and drew my sword, ready to fight. But it was just Viper, so no reason to beat her up.

"Oh, it's just you," I sighed with relief and put my sword back into its sheath.

"What are you even doing in here?" she asked in a rather suspicious tone.

"Nothing," I lied. "I just came to see what's in here…"

It was easy to see that Viper didn't quite believe me. You couldn't blame her for that, since I wouldn't believe me either… I mean, I had started a fight, beat her and her friends up and also acted very ignorant at some points… I was just myself!

"Really?" Viper asked with an even more suspicious voice. "Did you find anything of interest?"

"I guess not…" I replied. This was the same as Shifu; if I said yes, she'd probably get even more suspicious about my intentions, and I couldn't risk that; then I'd be a dead lynx!

Before Viper could reply, the door in the other end of the hall was shot open. We turned our heads to see a few wolverines and a few vultures enter. The wolverines wore the same kind of armor as the ones from earlier and the vultures' armor looked similar, except less bulky and probably lighter, so that they could still fly.

The vultures had dark brown feathers, which matched the fur of the wolverines, but the feathers on their heads were shorter and had a cream color to them. The vultures had long sharp-looking beaks and their wings were pretty long and they allowed them to glide soundlessly through the air… towards us!

I drew my sword a second time and I looked at Viper with a face that asked 'Are we going to beat them up?' and without any words, we made a counter attack.

Viper took care of the big wolverines with her dance-like Kung Fu skills, while I had to take on the vultures. The big birds were faster than I had thought at first and attacking them was one thing; avoiding _their _attacks was something else!

As one of them flew towards me at full speed, I jumped aside and the big bird crashed into one of the big pillars in the hall. I quickly pushed myself off the floor, but then I realized that my sword was gone. I desperately looked around for it, but I couldn't see it. The vultures all struck down again and I just barely avoided getting shredded to pieces.

Suddenly I got an idea: the hall was full of weapons, so what if I…? Viper seemed too busy fighting to notice, so I quickly grabbed something that looked like a metallic fist from a stand. It wasn't much bigger than my own hand, but it was surprisingly heavy! I almost dropped it due to its weight, but just managed to hold it as the vultures came towards me. I wasn't able to figure out the actual function of the fist, so all I did was to throw it at the first vulture. The metal fist hit him in the head and knocked him unconscious, but I still had his comrades to worry about. One of them hit me in the face with his one wing, but I just barely managed to avoid the second.

My battle-instincts – or rather my hunting instincts – kicked in and I quickly jumped onto one of the tall pillars and climbed up to face the vultures in their own element. Unfortunately it hadn't been as good an idea as I had hoped for. At this height they had more ease attacking me and I had less ease avoiding them!

Just as one of them closed in, I jumped into the air and kicked him in the face. He fell to the ground and so did I. I had climbed to a great height and the impact would hurt. I know they say that cats always land on their feet and have nine lives and all that stuff, but in reality, it still hurts, even though we reduce the pain by spreading our bodies out so that we have more resistance against the air. And I spread out my arms and legs and I could feel how I slowed the fall. I landed softly on the hall's floor, while the vulture landed behind me with a BUMP.

Suddenly someone yelled: "STAND CLEAR!"

We all stopped fighting and in a dash, the wolverines and vultures were gone. I looked over at Viper and shrugged in question and if she had shoulders, she probably would have done the same.

But before I could react, the door exploded. I fell backwards due to the force of the explosion. I opened my eyes and saw that it went in slow-motion. The rubbles and wood from the door flew around the hall and I saw how Viper jumped towards me and shielded me from the rubbles by slamming them away (I guess I would have to thank her later.)

Viper and I landed near the wall on top of some rubble and whatever had been blown away by the explosion.

I looked up just as three or four wolverines rushed inside. Whatever intentions they had, they didn't seem to have anything to do with us. But unfortunately a few vultures had plans for us.

* * *

><p>"So, now what?" I asked Viper as we were carried upside down by the vultures as they flew through the night sky.<p>

"We wait," the green snake just replied calmly.

I sighed as I just hung there. The vultures had said something about extermination, which I didn't like the sound of. I had tried to get free but they were too strong; plus, I didn't want to fall from such a height.

"You know," I started. I guess I would try to convince them to peacefully set me down. "You should really let me go; I mean I don't even know Kung Fu! But you can take her with you…"

"Hey!" Viper yelled at me, but I just ignored her and hoped that they would listen.

"Heh, how do you explain your outfit then?" the vulture that carried me asked. "Looks like a training outfit to me."

I sighed and slapped my forehead. "If I take it off, will you let me go then?"

"Hai!" Viper yelped with a face that said 'did he just say that?' But I did; I had to get away from here and get my focus back on my main mission.

"Yes, as soon as I lay an egg," the vulture that carried me said in a sarcastic tone (Did I mention that he was a male vulture?)

I was about to sigh in annoyance, but suddenly the vultures that carried us were hit by something.

For a few seconds we fell downwards, but soon the vultures regained their balance – at least the one that was carrying me. The one that was carrying Viper seemed to struggle and flapped his wings in a wild fashion. Maybe because he had Monkey on top of him, I don't know, but I think that's why.

Soon the vulture that carried me was attacked too – by Crane! For some reason he cared enough to save me.

Crane used his long legs and his talons to try and get me out of the vulture's grip, while I just tried not to fall down. The skinny bird did his best to disarm the vulture. The only problem was that we were high above the village and if we fell, we'd die (Someone in the village would probably get hurt too!)

The vulture held onto my legs and I swung back and forth, from side to side as the vulture fought against Crane. The vulture tried to strike with his long, strong beak, while Crane tried to attack with his long, powerful wings and talons instead, even though his beak was like four times as long, and really sharp-looking.

I was just able to look over at the vulture that carried Viper to see that Monkey had gotten her free. He punched the vulture in the head before jumping onto the one that held me. The surprise and the impact made the vulture turn upside down in mid air and we all fell.

"So did this turn out like planned?" I asked Monkey as we kept falling.

"Eh… no not real-…"

"Get off me you stupid primate," the vulture interrupted him, at which we both punched him in the head, knocking him out.

Suddenly Crane flew down beside us. He shouted for us to jump on, but we were all at least three times heavier than him when our weight was combined, so I wasn't sure that it was a good idea, but Monkey and Viper didn't hesitate, which just caused me to do the same.

While Viper gracefully softly wrapped her long, sleek body around Crane's long neck to hold her in place and Monkey grabbed his talons, there wasn't any place for me. At first they all seemed shocked when I just fell down, while Crane had the others safely soared downwards.

Just as I thought that I was going to die, I felt Monkey grab me by the leg. I sighed with relief as I knew that I would be safe for now.

"Thanks for remembering me," I said sarcastically and looked up at him as we continued to soar down.

"Hey, better late than never, right?" Monkey chuckled.


	6. Why Did I Have to Come Along?

_Adventure is not outside man; it's within._

**George Eliot**

* * *

><p>When the others and I arrived back at Jade Palace, it was clear to see that the wolverines and vultures had outnumbered Po, Tigress, Mantis and Shifu; the whole palace was almost completely leveled with the ground! The tall walls there were before, were nothing but rubble and some of it was set on fire.<p>

A little away, we could hear that there was still a battle going on. We rushed towards the sound of the battle, but I could feel how sad the others were and I could feel that they didn't put too much heart into running. I wanted to say something to comfort them, but I didn't know what to say, since it'd probably just make it worse if I said anything.

As soon as we arrived at the outside training area, I saw how Tigress, Po and Shifu were fighting the intruders. Some of the wolverines seemed to have muscle-spasms, but I was pretty sure that it was just Mantis attacking them and we quickly joined the fight.

I drew my sword and attacked a few wolverines who were about to ambush Tigress as she fought some vultures.

I jumped and kicked one of them in the back so he fell over. It was kind of a bad idea, since it also hurt my foot because of his armor. Soon the two had forgotten about Tigress and went after me instead. I used my sword to block any attacks from their clubs and I also did my best to avoid getting cornered, since that would for sure get me killed.

Just as one of them jumped forwards to slam me with his club, I hit his cheek with my sword, using all my strength to knock him aside. I had barely gotten him down before his friend slammed his entire armor-covered body against mine, knocking me backwards.

I grabbed my chest where he had hit me, due to the pain. Just as he was about to attack me again, a dash of stripes knocked him away.

Tigress' kick had sent him several meters backwards into some rubble and soon he was knocked out. Tigress then looked at me with a face that wanted me to speak.

"Oh yeah," I said when I realized what she wanted. "Thanks…"

Soon the last goons were down and we watched as they fled. As soon as they were gone, Shifu turned towards me.

"What did you do?" he almost growled at me.

"I don't know what you're…"

"You were in the Hall of Warriors…" the old panda growled at me, as if I was lying; I hadn't had any idea about what he was talking about at first, but now it looked like all of this had been my fault. "… a place where no one with no knowledge of Kung Fu should be allowed to come."

"I was just looking around," I said trying to defend myself. "Besides, I've been in there before and you didn't rage at me back then…"

"They took them!" the red panda growled. I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to tell me what the heck he was talking about.

"Took what?"

"The scrolls," Tigress replied in a calm voice. For once I was glad to speak to her, since I could see that Shifu would soon go off like fireworks in anger. It was as if his anger made the air warmer, but maybe it was just the flames from the rubble.

"Oh… those scrolls there were on those big shelves?" I asked, finally understanding what it was all about.

"Yes, those," Tigress replied, sounding a little suspicious.

"But why would you think that I would have anything to do with the raid?" I asked. Actually I _could_ have had something to do with stealing, but this one time I didn't.

"I don't," Viper said which just caused everyone else to look at her in question.

"Looks like you've got yourself a little girlfriend," Monkey joked at me, but Viper just ignored his comment.

"I was there when the goons arrived and I could tell that he had nothing to do with… this." When she spoke her last word, she looked around at all the ruins of the palace with a strong look of longing in her eyes.

Shifu sighed, obviously a little softened up after hearing this from one of his students. "But we need the scrolls back. If the soldiers' master was to kill Kung Fu, those scrolls could lead him right to where every Master in China is."

I turned around and was about to leave, but when Tigress called out my name, I froze in a step. I stopped and turned around on my heel to face the others.

"You're coming along too," she told me. Actually she demanded it and it didn't look like I had a choice.

"Why?" I asked. It made no sense, since I had nothing – and I mean _NOTHING _– to do with Kung Fu. This was _their_ palace, _their_ friends and therefore _their_ problem. Besides, what could I ever do to help?

"We could need the extra help," Viper elaborated, though sounding a little uncertain, and the others just looked everywhere else but at me. Obviously it was a lie.

"Come on," I said annoyed. "You guys could defeat a whole army by yourselves. I wouldn't make any difference. The only thing I would do would be to drag you down."

I usually didn't talk like that about myself, but I didn't want to help them… the treasure and… wait, the treasure! Maybe I would find it while I helped them! But then again, it could just be a waste of time, and my days – and sins – would be counted. I shook my head and said: "Listen, I wouldn't come along, even if you forced me to…"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you forced me to come along," I grumbled at Tigress and Viper as we all seven walked up the mountain path. Somehow they had all managed to drag me along. "I just don't get it."<p>

I walked beside Viper while the others walked a little behind us with the exception of Tigress who walked up front, even though Crane flew and Mantis sat on Monkey's shoulder.

Viper just chuckled at what I had just said, but I didn't find it funny. Then we continued to walk a little without talking. The trail we had been following hadn't been too good. It was only some footsteps from the wolverines and here and there we'd also find feathers from the vultures. We didn't really have much to follow, but luckily they all seemed to know what they were doing.

"So where do we start?" I heard Po ask Tigress.

"All we can do now is tracking them down," she replied.

"Track them down?" Monkey asked as if it was stupid. "How? The only clues we have are footprints and feathers."

Suddenly Viper stopped, much to my surprise. We all just looked at her in question. She then said: "Just keep going, I just have to talk to Hai in private."

The others just shrugged and kept walking. After a little while we followed them with a few meters space between them and us.

"So?" I asked, expecting Viper to speak up. Whatever it was, I hoped it was important. I could tell on her facial expression that it was, but why wouldn't she let the others hear it? Was it _that_ important, or was it only supposed stay between her and me?

"Hai, you remember when you woke up after the incident in the Training Hall, right?" Viper asked. I nodded and couldn't help but notice how sad she looked when she mentioned the Training Hall.

"You woke up wrapped in nothing but bandages, right?" she continued. I nodded again, unsure of what she meant and unsure of what to say. "You do realize that I had to take your clothes off, right?"

"Yeah…" I replied and nodded for the third time. It was actually getting kind of awkward now. Was it about seeing me naked or what? It could only get more awkward if it was. "So what?"

Suddenly she leaned in close and whispered in my ear: "Has anyone ever told you that you have a nice tattoo?"

I almost tripped over my own feet in surprise. My pirate tattoo! She knew my secret! Why hadn't I thought about that before? What should I do now? Should I run away before they could capture me? But if she wanted to capture me, wouldn't she have told the others, instead of whispering it with such a low voice.

"What?" I asked confused and stopped walking. "You know that...?"

"Yes," the reptile replied without looking at me.

I almost expected her to jump me and pin me down, but we just kept walking for a while. When I couldn't hold my question in anymore, I asked: "Why didn't you tell the others?"

"I know you are… _that_…" she said, trying not to mention pirate, in case the others would hear it, which I was thankful for. "But we've met other… you know… and you just seem different, so I thought that there might be a chance to turn you in a good direction."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" I asked. I could take it as both. Usually people would be happy when someone else called them different the way Viper did, since it made it sound like I was a nice person (Which we all know I'm not… kind of…) But as a pirate, it could be an insult.

"A compliment of course, what did you think?" Viper asked, obviously not understanding my pirate logic. I wanted to explain whatever I had meant, but I couldn't risk that the others would hear it. I was pretty sure that Tigress would make me nothing but a pelt if she found out; she didn't even like me that much already.

I didn't know about the others, though. I had also had a bad start with Mantis, while Monkey, Crane and Po seemed to have neutral thoughts on me, which probably meant that they wouldn't beat me up the instant they knew my secret – if they'd ever find out.

"So where are we heading?" I heard Po ask up ahead. Viper and I ran up to the others, so that we could hear it as well.

"We have to warn the other Kung Fu Masters of China," Tigress replied calmly as if she wasn't busy or anything.

"So how do we find them?" I asked. China is a big country, so warning every single Kung Fu Master would take forever. "Do you have their addresses?"

"No, but I know that there's a certain group of Masters in a nearby forest." We all looked over at Crane. I hadn't expected him to know such a thing, but the sooner we could get to work, the better.

"I read about them," Crane explained, at which we just shrugged and decided that that would be a good place to start.

"So how do we get there?" Mantis asked. "Did you study up on that too?"

Yes, Crane – kind of – knew how to get there, so soon we were on our way across some mountains. The trip was a journey that went faster and was harder than what I was used to, since I did things in my own tempo, but it wasn't too hard to keep up with the others. The good thing about having Po along was that he often wanted to take a break, and therefore I could get one too.

It felt like we traveled for days, but actually it was only all night. I remember how the sun rose up from the faraway mountains as we made our way up the mountain path.

"Can we take… a break now… guys?" Po suddenly asked. We stopped walking and looked back at the panda.

"Come on, we stopped twenty minutes ago," Monkey complained to Po. It was true that we had just recently had a break and even I wasn't tired yet. But a rest would be better than nothing. But nonetheless, we held another break.

"Sorry for asking, but weren't we totally busy just two minutes ago?" I asked as we all stopped and waited for Po to catch his breath. Suddenly a leaf rustled near us. We all looked towards the tree, from which the sound had come from. We then looked at each other, trying to decide who should check it out. Since no one offered to do it, I picked up Mantis and threw him into the cover of leaves. The others looked at me in a very unhappy way. I just shrugged as if I didn't understand their problem.

Soon the leaves in the tree started rustling again and suddenly a dash of white passed us and darted into the forest. Mantis came back to us and – not before kicking me in the head – said: "We're being stalked."

Suddenly I felt a wind blow past me. At the same time it also felt as if _someone_ and not _something_ had passed by. But how? It was impossible to move so fast that you became invisible…! Right?

"Who are you?" a sudden voice spoke. We all looked around, trying to find out wherever the voice had come from. Whoever it was, he was impossible to spot in the dense forest.

"Just travelers," I replied before anyone else could. Then in a sarcastic tone I added: "And hello to you too."

Suddenly I felt a few more gusts close to us. Whoever these people were, they sure were fast. If they were enemies, this might become a problem.

"You've got nothing to do here, go back to the bald-lands!" the same voice spoke. This time though, it seemed to come from another tree. But that word he used – 'bald-lands' – sounded kind of weird and I didn't quite understand what it meant. I had discovered that Crane appeared to be the smarter member of the group, so I just looked at him in question.

"The areas outside the forest," he explained to me.

"But we've come to…" Tigress started, but she was cut off by the voice. I didn't know what the heck she was talking about, but she seemed to know what she was doing, so I wouldn't interfere with that.

"I said that you've got nothing to do here," the voice said in a rather stern tone, but suddenly my mouth started going on its own.

"Listen, we've got a job to do, so just shut up, would you?" Everyone else looked at me with a shocked face and just then did I realize what I had said. This wouldn't turn out well.

"Hmmm… big lack of respect…" the voice said. "But let's see how intruders can keep up with our quick-speed."

Suddenly something or someone tackled me and made me fall to the ground, due to the hard impact. When I landed, I looked over at the others, but they had obviously also been tackled to the ground. We all quickly rose to our feet and looked around. I drew my sword and prepared to fight. I had barely grabbed the sword before a dash of black fur hit me, sending me backwards into a tree. At first I thought it was a wolverine from before, but this person didn't wear any metallic armor. This person also appeared less bulky and had a longer and sleeker tail. At least that's what it looked like to me. The person moved very fast, so I wasn't sure about how he or she looked.

Next thing I knew, I was kicked in the head. I fell to my knees and grabbed my cheek, which was almost completely numb. Before me I saw a black panther. He had completely black fur – but I guess you already knew that – and a pair of penetrating orange eyes. He wore some green and brown robes that perfectly blended into this deep-wood-thing or whatever.

I jumped forwards, trying to strike him with my sword, but all my sword hit was something that gave off a metallic clang-sound. I realized that he'd somehow gotten a sword out of nowhere. What just made it that much worse, was that it was made of metal unlike mine. I quickly figured that this meant that they were ninjas. I had never really seen or met ninjas, but I had heard that they were very skillful… and dangerous.

Surprisingly enough, my sword hadn't taken any damage from the impact with the sleek metal-blade, which I was thankful for, even though it made no sense at all. I mean, have you ever heard about a wooden 'stick' that was able to withstand being clashed against a metallic sword of a mighty fine quality?

Suddenly the panther pulled back his sword and struck again. I dodged his attack and swept his feet away, so that he fell forwards. He fell headfirst onto the ground, but made a somersault forwards. Suddenly he seemed to disappear into thin air.

I looked around for him, but the only thing I could see, was the others fighting. Mantis and Viper were up against a duck, Monkey and Po against a cheetah, Crane against a deer and Tigress was doing her best to defeat an eagle.

Before I had time to see what was happening, I felt a sudden gust blow past me. I was sure that it was the panther, but why hadn't he sliced me to pieces with his sword? Then I realized that he was just playing with me.

When I felt the next gust approach, I quickly struck my sword forwards and smiled when I felt it hit something. Soon I watched as the panther stumbled into a bush a little away.

"So you think I can't keep up with your quick-speed?" I said sarcastically as I took a few steps towards him. But before he answered me, he disappeared in a dash of black fur. I looked over at the others and it looked like they were superior to the weird ninjas and before we knew it, they disappeared too. We all gathered in the middle of the clearing. None of us had taken major damage, despite the fact that they had swords, so we were relieved that they had gone off 'deep-wood'.

"Are you okay, guys?" Po asked. We all just nodded and muttered a 'yes'. Obviously the fight had been hard, but not too hard to win.

Suddenly I noticed that Tigress held onto her arm, as if she was injured. A few seconds later the others saw it too.

"Oh, my," Viper said. "You're hurt!"

I could tell that the wound hurt Tigress, but as she tried to keep her cool and hard attitude, she just tried to say that it was okay and that we shouldn't worry about it. But Viper insisted on helping her friend and soon we had gathered some herbs that were supposed to help. As for myself, I didn't know about herbs or plants other than a few, such as seaweed, since I knew it was edible with rice.

* * *

><p>"Who were those guys anyways?" I asked as we continued to make our way through the forest. The ninja-guys had been tough to fight off, so I really didn't want to see them for a while – and by that, I mean for the rest of my life.<p>

"They might be who we came here to look for," Crane replied.

"They are? Why did we waste time fighting, then?" I was a little annoyed, since we could have just talked about it and maybe they'd realize that we were here to warn them against the wolverines and vultures. But for some reason, we hadn't. I didn't know if the others had tried to explain the situation to the ninjas, but if they had, they obviously hadn't listened.

"We _tried_ to talk to them," Monkey said annoyed. "But obviously their quick-speed blocks their ears."

But if we were looking for Kung Fu Masters, why did those deep-wood-guys play a role? They were ninjas, or were I the only one who had noticed that?

* * *

><p>Here's the next chapter. I know the last segment is kind of short, but that's what you get for this update. Also, I'll give some more back-story for the ninja-guys in the next chapter - it'll be epic!<p> 


	7. Why Didn't They Just Listen?

_Be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed._

**Edward Young**

* * *

><p>"How much deeper do we have to go?" I asked as we made our way through the forest. We had been going for quite a while now, and we got deeper and deeper into the forest. The thing that bothered me the most about being in the forest was that there were tall trees surrounding us, and if those ninja-guys returned, we'd have a disadvantage against them.<p>

"Just a little further," Crane said. "The village isn't far away… I think."

'I think?' Yeah, that was really helpful, I thought, but I didn't say anything out loud. The only reason why I hadn't run away yet, was because I wanted to find the treasure while I went with these guys. If we got lost in some forest, the chances of finding the treasure were very small.

"So, Crane, who are these guys anyway?" Po asked, which I was glad he asked, since I was actually about to ask the same. Besides, I wanted to know if they were really worth finding. If not, I would probably leave… if they'd let me.

"They're called the Storm Clan," Crane explained as we continued. The name appeared kind of weird to me, but I was sure that there was an explanation; whatever that'd be.

"So, they're Kung Fu Masters?" I asked, even though I almost asked if they were ninjas instead.

"Yes, but they vanished years ago," Crane replied.

"But they're just inside this forest," I pointed out. Crane had said that they had vanished, but why hadn't people found them before? When we came to this forest, the others obviously knew that they were here, so where was the logic?

"Yes, but they came to shore with a ship a year ago," Tigress explained. "They said that they had been in Japan."

Japan was a little country southeast to China. I had never been there, but the cook aboard dad's ship was from there. When I was put on kitchen duty (Which I often was) I learned how to make a lot of Japanese food, which was the only kind of food he knew how to cook. Yes, Genta was just about the only crewmember that treated me… well, decently, if you'd call it that.

"But why are they here now?" I asked. "Or wherever they are…"

"When they arrived, they went into the mountains... somewhere around here," Monkey said.

"Man, it sounds like you were there," I said as we kept going. From the way they looked at me, I figured that they had been there. "Oh…"

Soon we came to some kind of clearing. There was a big river that made its way through the clearing in front of us. In front of the river there was a sign. We all walked up to the sign to see what was written on it.

The message was seemingly written in Chinese, but when we got closer, the writing didn't seem to make any sense. The kanji were placed in some kind of weird way, so I just looked at the others, hoping that they understood.

"Legislation… prohibiting… into… ri?" I heard Monkey try to read. It was just about the same I got out of the sign, but there was one symbol in the middle of the nonsense that I had never seen before.

"I think it's Japanese," Crane said, which seemed like a good guess to me. "But I have no idea about what it means."

"Me neither," Po said. "But maybe it means that we shouldn't…"

"Whatever it means…" I interrupted the big panda. "… We'll have to cross that river, right?"

"Hai…" I just ignored Tigress' warning tone and walked over to the river. It was around two meters in width and it was so long that I couldn't see its ends in either direction. I was about to cross it when a voice spoke throughout the forest.

"Stop right there!" I almost fell into the river in surprise. I looked back at the others, who struck something that looked like half of their usual battle-pose, obviously surprised as well.

"Is it you guys again?" I asked. For a few seconds the forest was silent and my voice echoed throughout the forest.

"Yes." This time the voice came from elsewhere; in fact it was like it came from right next to me.

"Well, why don't you show yourself and we'll talk about it?" I heard Tigress ask from behind me, even though it surprised me that she said something like that, since I had seen her as the aggressive type before.

"Why don't you read the sign?" another voice asked. This was a female's voice, and it almost sounded calmer than Tigress, which takes a lot. She also sounded a bit older than Tigress and the rest of us, so maybe she was the brains for these Storm Clan-Guys.

"We did!" I heard Mantis yell. I was surprised at how loud such a little guy could shout. "But obviously you can't spell!"

Suddenly the forest was filled with laughter. It wasn't a cold and evil laughter, but more like a warm one that made you want to laugh too. I turned to the others and looked at them in question, and they looked just as confused. When I turned around again, I saw that someone stood on the other side of the river. The others joined me and soon we stood face to face with the Storm Clan.

Up front there was an eagle, and obviously he was their leader. He had brown, almost crimson, feathers and his long and sharp-looking beak was yellow with a black tip. Just like the others, his robes were green and brown, which might have explained why they were so hard to spot in the forest. He stood very tall, and his talons also looked awfully sharp. His wings were folded in, but even then, they seemed to be very muscular.

Then there was a little duck with plain white feathers. He was seemingly the youngest, or at least the shortest, of the group and next to him stood a red deer. She had brown fur that also looked kind of red, and she was actually pretty tall, almost taller than the eagle-guy.

Lastly there was a cheetah and a black panther. The cheetah was kind of skinny and had sand colored fur, even though his had a more yellow nuance than mine, and he also had black spots all over. The panther was the one I had fought earlier and he was a little more bulky than the cheetah, but not to the point of looking like the wolverines we had fought before. His fur was dark black, and in the morning sunlight, it almost seemed to be brown.

"So you're those Storm-guys?" Po asked.

"Yes," the eagle said, but obviously he recalled that we were intruders, and they all struck a battle position, ready to strike. "But that doesn't matter. Who are you?"

I was about to speak, but obviously Tigress sensed that it would be a bad idea, so she gently put her paw on my shoulder, but then shoved me backwards with brute force. I stumbled backwards, but was luckily kept from falling by Viper. She used her tail to push me forwards, so that I didn't fall.

"We're the Furious Five," Tigress told the ninjas. "We came here from Jade Palace."

"You are?" the eagle asked. "Why didn't you say so?"

I sighed in annoyance. If they had just listened to us earlier, we wouldn't have had to go through this long walk just to find them!

"Why didn't you listen?" I muttered, which just triggered an elbow in the chest from Tigress.

* * *

><p>"Sorry we had to fight you like that," the eagle-guy apologized as we walked through the forest. As we had crossed the river, they had introduced themselves; there was Feng the duck, Weifeng the deer, Shunfeng the cheetah, Fengbao the panther and finally Jufeng the eagle, their leader. I found it kind of weird how all their names had something to do with air, but at least they weren't just named after their species… and it also kind of explained the name of their team.<p>

"We've just been careful about who we let into our village lately," Jufeng continued. After hearing that, I got the idea that it might have had something to do with those wolverine troops.

"Do you know why we're here?" Tigress asked the Storm Clan. They all exchanged eye contact, obviously having a fair idea about what it was.

"Yes," Weifeng replied. She sounded very worried and her voice almost sounded like a tired sigh. "We've already taken in a few Masters."

So their village had been some kind of shelter for Kung Fu Masters who had fled from the troops? It sounded bad if people with the same skills as the Furious Five could be chased off by the same kind of dummies we had fought over the last few days. But maybe it was just because of the sheer number of the troops…

"Who came here?" Po asked. Maybe it was just me, but I thought that his voice sounded kind of excited. Maybe it was just because he either wanted to see who it was, or maybe it was because he knew someone who might have come to the village.

"Not many," Jufeng replied. "Just a few Masters from the villages in the Great Mountains… we've even got two masters from Shan City… and the…"

Jufeng's words seemed to lose their volume as I suddenly remembered something one of the wolverine soldiers had said on the marketplace back in the Village. _He's the emperor of Shan City._ That Zhu guy who wanted to exterminate their Kung Fu was emperor of that city, and then they just let people from that exact same city into their village? Maybe it was just me, but something definitely didn't sound right.

Suddenly a big feathered wing waved in front of my face. "Hey, sword-clasher?"

I snapped back into reality and saw that everyone was staring at me. "What?"

"I just asked you where you've learned to use a sword like that," Jufeng replied calmly. I could see that he and his comrades all had swords hanging in sheaths on their backs, and I would almost bet my own head on that their swords were made of metal. In fact, I knew they were metallic; I had fought Fengbao and his was.

"Well, my… uncle taught me," I replied. I had almost said my dad, but I remembered that I had said my uncle when I lied to Shifu some time ago. Po and the Five had been there, so if I told them something else, they'd know that I had lied back then. But Viper knew my secret, so she probably knew that I was a liar, but she said nothing; only glared at me a little, but who cared about her glares?

"Was he a good swordsman?" Feng asked me. The little, white duck seemed too young to be allowed to wield a sword – he could at least be twelve, maybe thirteen.

"Yes…?" I looked over at Viper again, who just gave me another glare. "He was actually a soldier."

"Really?" Viper asked coldly, not utterly amused, even though her cold tone had surprised us all. Viper always seemed to be so happy, so I was also a little shocked when she spoke like that.

"Whoa, I just think it became winter in here," Monkey said as if he could feel the coldness in her voice.

"Uh… yeah…" I muttered, while I watched the others look at Viper with surprised expressions on their faces. "So, what's this village like?"

"Nothing special," Weifeng replied. "Just like a shelter, really."

Soon we came to a clearing. The clearing was big, almost as big as the outside arena at what used to be Jade Palace. There were some small houses made in the clearing, and a chill was sent down my spine as I realized that it looked like the panda-village where my fate had been settled. But I knew it wasn't the same village; we were in the mountains, but the panda-village seemed to be on higher grounds.

As soon as we entered the village, we were met by the villagers themselves. There were many different kinds of species there, but mainly deer. They weren't the same species as Weifeng, but some kind of smaller species. Many of them seemed to know Po and the Five, especially the children, but some of them seemed to find me interesting too, for some reason. As we walked through the village, I could also hear some of the villagers say something about a new ninja… Wait, did they mean me? Then this would be the second time I was mistaken for something I wasn't. But I can't say that I didn't like the attention. I could tell that the others seemed to be used to this kind of attention, and Po was the only one who seemed to like it, at least a little.

In the middle of the village there was a decently sized house. It had a roof that was covered in green tiles. There was a painting at the door with the kanji for speed, which I guessed was suiting for these guys.

"So… this is our crib," I heard Feng say as we entered the house. The room we entered looked like some kind of civilian house, which was logical, since that was what crib means.

"Crib?" I heard Tigress ask, but no one paid enough attention. The house was pretty big, bigger than it looked from the outside. There was a little room a few meters away from the entrance, and from what it looked like, it was their bed room; at least I could see some bamboo beds, similar to those they had had at Jade Palace. The main room itself was filled with all kinds of stuff; weapons, armor and much, much more. To sum it up, this was like a shrunken down version of the Hall of Warriors. The only exception was that there were weapons that I had never seen before, and some of the paintings had kanji-combinations that didn't make any sense, obviously Japanese.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Feng asked, his young voice sounding kind of proud. I had never seen this many weapons at one place before; just thinking about how using them would be like was…

Obviously it's easy to see what's on my mind, because as I thought about this, Viper poked me in the side with the end of her tail. I blinked a few times and looked down at the reptile. Her face said it all; if I just as much as touched these weapons… well, I guess you know what I mean.

"So you're the only ones protecting the village here?" Po asked. "How many people live here?"

"Well, about forty, maybe fifty people," Jufeng said, not seeming entirely sure. "And yeah, we pretty much do it ourselves."

I then noticed that Fengbao was the only one I hadn't heard talk. The Black Panther just… stood there, eying us as if we were some kind of really disgusting rotten food – at least that's the way he looked at me.

I slowly walked over to Feng while the others kept talking about all kinds of stuff, bowed down and asked the little duck: "What's up with that guy?"

He followed my gaze and looked over at the panther. "Fengbao? Nothing, he just doesn't talk, that's all."

"Why not?" I wondered, still looking at the panther. When his orange eyes got in contact with mine, I turned to Feng as if I had been talking to him all along.

"Don't know," Feng replied with a shrug. "He never has."

* * *

><p>Later that day the Storm-Clan members told us the story about how they became Kung Fu Masters. It turned that they had all been trained by some person named Tiankong and his Japanese wife, Lady Sora, hence the ninja-part. They had been trained ever since childhood and had achieved the Master tittle.<p>

"What about Feng?" Mantis asked as they told us about the Master tittle. "He seems too little to be a Master." At his size remark, we all looked at him. Ironically he wasn't even half as tall as Feng. "You guys know what I mean!"

"It's actually kind of funny," Feng started, before clearing his throat. "You see, the Duck Kung Fu Style is kind of underrated, so not many people use it. In fact, I'm the oldest user left."

"Really?" I asked. It was kind of hard to believe that you'd be announced Master just because you were the last user of a style. Was it really so lame that no one wanted to learn it besides this kid? I couldn't really believe that. "But who said you were a Master then."

"Master Tiankong," Feng replied. "We've all trained long enough to earn our Master status."

"But what about your… Ninja-ness?" Po asked.

"We were taught both things at the same time," Shunfeng replied. It was actually a little hard to understand him. I know he's a cheetah, but did that mean he had to speak so fast?

"Wasn't that hard?" Viper asked. By now she seemed to have loosened up a little more compared to earlier when she was kind of cold. "I mean to focus on two things at a time."

The Storm guys then explained how hard it actually had been, even though they had been able to fall into the routine over time, and they were able to master both things. For Feng, being the youngest, it had been hardest to him, but he had also focused more on the Kung Fu, so – as he said – he wasn't as fast as the others.

"What made you return to China?" Tigress asked calmly.

Jufeng thought for a moment. It seemed like he didn't actually know. "Well, I guess it was because we heard about the guy who tries to become Emperor of China… or maybe just because we wanted to."

The first theory had sounded more believable and was also a better reason to return, since I guess normal people – I don't know about myself – would fight to keep idiots from becoming dictators of their country. An emperor is actually a dictator nonetheless, but it was okay as long as he did a good job, which I was sure this Zhu person wouldn't do as an emperor.

"Besides, this is the village where we were born, so we thought that they might need our protection. And look, they did."

Jufeng pointed towards a long list hanging on the wall. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a list of names. Probably names of people they had defeated when they attacked the village. Now I suddenly understood why they hadn't hesitated on attacking us; that list was huge!

"So if it comes to a war," Tigress continued turning it over to something serious. "Will you join us?"

Jufeng looked at his friends. They all seemed to agree, which was good for us-… wait, did I have to fight too? I had only tagged along because I planned to leave them as soon as I tracked the treasure down! I almost freaked out, but I gave myself a mental slap and remembered to keep stuff like that in.

Jufeng and his teammates finally bowed for Tigress and said: "Hai!"

"What?" I asked. Why the heck would they call out my name randomly like that? Had he figured me out or…?

"Not you," Weifeng chuckled at my question. "It means 'yes' in Japanese."

Just as the others chuckled at the joke, someone barged in and yelled: "Guys, we have trouble!"

The one yelling was a Chinese Mountain Cat. She had light brown fur like me, and she had darker brown stripes on her arms, cheeks, forehead and tail. Her eyes were yellow and her irises were the same dark brown as her stripes. Her outfit was really plain; just black robes and gloves.

"Come on, this…!" She stopped herself when her eyes fell on one of us: Crane. The white bird looked just as surprised as she did for some reason. Finally she broke the silence: "Crane?"

"Mei Ling?" Crane asked and starred back at her. "Is it really…?"

"Sorry for interrupting you two, but how about we save it for later guys?" Po asked. Mei Ling and Crane just nodded, and then Mei Ling ran outside with the rest of us right behind her.

* * *

><p>Yay, it was Mei Ling! lol. I know she only appeared in the short, but I actually really liked her as a character, so here she is! Hope you guys like this chapter and I hope you'll stay tuned for the next one!<p> 


	8. Let's Battle!

_For too long, we have focused on our differences - in our politics and backgrounds, in our race and beliefs - rather than cherishing the unity and pride that binds us together._

**Bob Riley.**

* * *

><p>The villagers were running in all directions and the sound of yelling and screaming filled the air. When we exited the Storm Clan's house, Mei Ling grabbed a staff that stood by the door and rushed into battle. I kind of liked that she used a weapon – a wooden one actually – just like i did, since I hadn't met anyone, other than the wolverines, who used wooden weapons on this journey. But soon we were all rushing into battle.<p>

It seemed to be vultures and wolverines – again! How had they found us? Had they stalked us all the way her-… wait a second! I remembered that Jufeng had said that they had some people here from Shan City! Whether they were Kung Fu Masters or not, they seemed to have led the troops here, so when we were done here, I would say that there were a few things we had to take care of.

Just as we started fighting, a few more people joined us. One of them was a leopard and the others were an otter and a red fox. I didn't know who they were, but the more the merrier, right?

I took on a group of five wolverines and three vultures. They seemed to be trying to scare the villagers, but now they had turned their focus towards me. I drew my sword and charged them at full speed. The nearest wolverine charged me and tried to make a counterattack with his wooden club. I blocked his attack with my sword and then just started slashing everything and everyone who came too close to me. These troops seemed to be better at fighting than the ones we had fought earlier, since they were harder to hit, and they seemed to be stronger too.

The vultures attacked me from the air and struck down to attack me, even though I managed to dodge most of their attacks. Just as another vulture closed in, I used one of the wolverines as a living-shield, making the vulture dash right into the wolverine's metallic chest armor, knocking himself out.

Soon the wolverines charged me from every side and the other vultures charged me from above. I had nowhere to flee, and even if I tried, the living wall the wolverines formed around me would be impossible to break. Besides, I wasn't nearly fast enough to escape now.

Suddenly I was grabbed out of the air. One second later I stood on the other side of the wolverines. I watched them and the vulture collide, knocking themselves out. How had I done that? Did I have some kind of hidden talent of ability? Just as I thought about what I had just done, I noticed the hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and noticed Shunfeng standing beside me.

"A close one, huh?" he asked in his quick-talking voice, which was kind of hard to understand. I nodded and couldn't help but wonder how much speed it would take to get me out of there so fast; I hadn't even heard him coming! Maybe I should become a ninja too…? Nah, too much training… besides, I had a job to fulfill first.

Shunfeng and I quickly rushed into the battle again. I teamed up with Mei Ling and Crane. The three of us had an easy time defeating the wolverines; actually it was so easy that we had a little chitchat while doing so.

"So, how did you guys meet?" I asked and bashed a wolverine in the head with me sword, while avoiding an attack of another.

"Long story short," Crane started and swept a vulture away with his powerful wing beats. "We met on a Kung Fu Academy. She gave me the confidence to start training, so I owe her my tittle as Master."

"You became a Master?" Mei Ling asked as she stood back-to-back with me, wolverines surrounding us. She poked me in the back with her elbow and when I looked back at her, she threw her staff to me. In response I threw her my sword and soon I was at it with her wooden staff.

"Yes… it took a lot of hard work," I heard Crane say as I used Mei Ling's staff to push the wolverines backwards before smashing my staff against their heads, knocking them further backwards. Then Crane asked: "How about you?"

"I became a Master too." I looked over at Mei Ling and saw that she was actually rather skilled with a sword. Not only did she seem to be good at using it as a skull-basher, but she would also throw it now and then, making it spin very fast in the air, which made it fly around like a weapon I had once heard of… What was it called…? Oh yeah, a shuriken! Come to think of it, it was a Japanese weapon, so maybe the Storm Clan owned a few. I was tempted to go and get one, but I was too busy at the moment.

Mei Lings staff was pretty long, but it was very light-weight, so if she agreed, I might offer a trade with her… or at least do a switch-up a little more often if she came along with us or something.

"Phew, that was fun," I said when the three of us had defeated the group of soldiers.

"You call _fighting_ fun?" Mei Ling frowned at me. It was obvious that she had a little more respect for her fighting than I had, and that she was one of those honorable Kung Fu Masters too.

"Actually, I meant using your staff, but yeah, the fight was also pretty good," I joked. I then tried to make her staff spin around in my hand, as if I knew what I was doing. I then started switching it from hand to hand while it spun around. Unfortunately this eventually made me hit myself in the back of my head. "Okay, never mind."

We then switched weapons again and ran over to help the others. They all seemed to be in control, and even outnumbered, they seemingly had the upper hand in the battle. We rushed in to help anyway, but when I went to help the ninjas, I realized just how little they needed help; they attacked the wolverines and vultures by dashing at them at an incredibly, almost uncontrollable looking speed. I almost couldn't see them, but I could sense them when they darted past me.

Suddenly I noticed that some wolverines had cornered some villagers. Soon I charged the wolverines, using my sword to slash them. It didn't seem to cause that much damage to them, but at least it took their attention away from the villagers.

"Run," I told the deer as I kept the wolverines away from them. I used my sword to block an attack from one of them and pushed him backwards, so that the villagers were able to get away. As soon as I was sure that the villagers had made it to safety, I withdrew my sword and quickly used it to slash the wolverine before he could attack me.

I dodged another club and hit another wolverine in the head with my sword. When one of them tried to charge me, I simply jumped off the ground and onto his shoulders. I landed on his shoulders behind him. I locked my legs around his throat and started slamming rapidly at his head with my sword, eventually knocking him out.

"Pull back!" I suddenly heard as I jumped off the wolverine. I then saw that all the wolverines for some reason fled into the forest. Well, it had turned out to be easier than expected. Suddenly I felt a gust of air right next to me.

"What just happened?" Jufeng asked me when he stood beside me. I didn't answer, but just watched as the wolverines disappeared.

"Why did they just leave?" Viper asked. She sounded very confused, just like we all were. Well, maybe except Po who was a little excited – or actually pretty excited.

"Maybe they gave up," Po said with a hopeful tone. "Because they realized just how awesome and cool we are!"

"Heh, yeah that could have done it," Weifeng chuckled at his comment. All the villagers who had hidden in the forest had come out too to see what was up with the troops. Some of them muttered hopeful and excited things to one another, while others kept their guard up.

"It'd be best if we abandoned the village," Mei Ling said. We all looked over at her, wanting some elaboration to that. "I mean, if they go out and get back-up, who knows how many soldiers they'll bring? They know where the village is, so no one will be safe here."

The Storm Clan and the villagers looked over at Jufeng. He seemed to be in deep thoughts at the moment. I can't say that Mei Ling didn't have a point; we'd get outnumbered and the villagers would become victims too. Suddenly the leopard next to Mei Ling spoke up. He was pretty tall, almost as tall as Po and Jufeng and his fur had the same color as mine; sand-colored with black spots, even though there was also some brownish orange in his spots, which kind of made them look like eyes somehow.

"I agree," he said. His voice sounded like one of authority, so I guessed that he was the leader of another team, since he was one of those Masters who had found shelter in the village. The red fox and the otter didn't seem to be the same type, and kept themselves a little in the background, taking care of the villagers' children.

"If we stay, it could risk the villagers' lives," the leopard continued. "She's right."

"Hmm… okay!" Jufeng then turned to the villagers. "Listen up! Only pack what is really necessary. If you pack too much it'll only slow us down. We will always be able to find food along the way, so don't think about that."

Oh no! This meant that we'd get off-topic and go save the villagers instead of finding the treasure-… I mean the Kung Fu Scrolls! It would waste my time, and if I ran out of time… I would run out of lifetime!

I darted over, grabbed Tigress by the arm and dragged her over behind a tree. I stuck my head out from behind the tree a second later, saying that we'd just discuss something for a second. The faces of the others had had a very surprised expression, and also a bit of curiosity, but they eventually let us talk.

"Are we really going to lead those villagers to safety?" I whispered to Tigress, afraid that the others might hear it.

"What do you mean with that? Of course!" she almost growled at me. It was a little too loud for my taste, so I stuck my head back from behind the tree again to look at the others. Everyone was staring at us; Po, the remaining Five, the Storm Clan, everyone! I just smiled a reassuring smile, trying to look convincing.

"I'm just saying that we'll either have to save them or every Kung Fu Master in China, and therefore also China," I explained, hissing lowly through my teeth. I was really annoyed at how Tigress had ignored such a fact and that I, out of any other person in the world, had to remind her about it.

Tigress seemed to come to her senses at this.

"Hai… you're right." She almost sounded excited for once, but still managed to keep up her straight face. "But we need to save these peop-…"

"If we save them first, it might be too late for everyone else!" I nearly screamed at her. I was sure that the others had heard it, but I didn't care; I had to put some sense into Tigress. Without thinking, I grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her rapidly. "Do you understand me woman?"

As soon as I realized what I had done, I quickly let go of her. I took a step backwards, so I could run away if necessary. She didn't say a word, but simply walked back to the others. I followed shortly behind her, feeling very awkward due to the silence that met us. I just wished I hadn't had to yell at Tigress.

"Guys, we'll have to split up," Tigress suddenly said, obviously surprising everyone. At once everyone started arguing and complaining over Tigress' idea. Tigress looked around for a second. The others mainly complained because they wanted us to stay united, so that we'd have a better chance of defending the villagers if we left anyway.

Suddenly Tigress walked over to one of the houses. The others were still arguing, but I watched her as she walked. To my surprise, she slammed her fist against the house, making a loud sound echo throughout the forest, and it also made the lanterns on the house swing back and forth due to the force of the impact.

When everyone fell silent, she spoke: "Jufeng, I'm sorry for not telling you, but we're on a mission. You and your friends should go take care of the villagers. The six-…"

"Seven," I corrected her, feeling annoyed at how she forgot about me.

"… seven of us, have to go," Tigress continued. "The fate of China and every Kung Fu Master within it depends on it. That's why we came here in the first place; to see if you were already under attack."

Jufeng and his teammates formed a circle and from what I could see, they started talking about it. I looked at the others. They were all waiting for the Storm Clan to make up their minds. Meanwhile, I turned towards Crane and Mei Ling.

"If they agree, I guess you'll be going too," Crane told his feline friend. He sounded a little sad, probably due to the fact that he had to be separated from her after being reunited again after a long time.

"Hmm… I guess," she said. "If Qiu decides to go with them, I guess I'll have to follow him. He is the leader of my team after all."

"You became a part of a team too?" Crane asked surprised. "I always thought you were good enough to go all alone."

"Thanks," Mei Ling said. She then shrugged. "I… it's a long story, but I'll tell you some day."

I could tell from Crane's expression what he was thinking: If we ever meet again. Crane was about to say something, but suddenly Jufeng spoke up. "Okay, Furious Five, Dragon Warrior and Hai; you go do your thing. Mao Enforcers, Extreme Eight – actually two – you come with us. People, let's go."

"Wait, that's just it?" Feng asked. "Couldn't we mix the teams up a little?"

"We don't have time for that," I told him, sounding a little impatient, ready to go. The others and I were about to leave when I saw Crane say his last goodbye to Mei Ling. It didn't seem too emotional, since we had a job to do, but they simply bowed for each other and wished each other the best of luck.

* * *

><p>"So, any idea about where to go now?" I asked Tigress as we all seven rushed up the mountain side. The fast traveling wasn't a problem to me, but still kind of hard when it was all the time. Po also seemed to feel the same about running nonstop.<p>

"We should see if we can find an easy way of getting to Zhu's palace in Shan City," Tigress replied. I could see a few holes in that plan, so I decided to break it down to her.

"You do realize that the soldiers didn't necessarily have to bring the scrolls to that dummy, right?" I asked her. "If they'd have to deliver the scrolls to him first, it'd take longer for them to attack, but if they shared them amongst different squads, they'd be able to track the masters down and attack faster."

Tigress fell silent at that. Obviously she hadn't fought it through as much as I had hoped she would. She was about to speak when I suddenly stepped on a round object, which caused me to fall on my back. I groaned from the pain of landing on my sword on a rocky mountain path. Soon the others stood around me, looking down at me.

"Are you okay?" Viper was the first to move and helped me to my feet.

"Yeah, sure," I replied and tried to ignored the pain. Then I looked over to see what had caused me to fall. It was a little… scroll? Maybe it was one of those scrolls that we'd been looking for!

I walked over and picked up the scroll, took it out of its holster, threw the holster aside carelessly (Which Monkey picked up) and read what was written on it. It said something about a person called Shanqu. It turned out that he was a Master of the Gouquan Kung Fu Style, also known as the Dog Style. It also said that he lived in a mountain village, where he served as a sheriff and sent  
>outlaws to prison. When I read the last part, I just realized that it might be best if we avoided face to face contact with him. He was probably very experienced and could easily see that I was pirate – how, I didn't know, but I didn't want to take the chance.<p>

"So, now what?" Mantis asked. "Do we go to see how Shanqu is doing, or do we keep going?"

"I think it'd be best to go check on him," Po said. He sounded kind of excited, so maybe it was just the thought of meeting another Kung Fu Master that drove him. "He might need some help if they've found him."

I was about to protest, but if I did, I knew I would also need some reasons to not go, or then they'd just get suspicious… but what should I tell them? That I had other things to do? No, that would be stupid.

"I say we do it," Monkey said. The place we had to go to was called Hao Mountain according to the scroll, and according to the others, it wasn't that far away. The others also said that he was a teacher, and that his students helped him defend the mountain village. That would only make it worse if he found out about me.

"What about eating?" Po suddenly asked, breaking the mood. "I'm hungry."

Suddenly my stomach growled, and someone else's did too, but no one seemed to admit it. It had just been the thought of eating that had made my stomach growl, and now I couldn't help but feel hungry. It had been some time since the last time we ate.

"Yeah, I'm kind of hungry too," I agreed. "And I could use some sleep too."

Po started to elaborate on it, and when he started to talk about the noodle soup his dad had taught him how to cook, I almost felt like attacking one of them and eating them… almost. Soon we had a conversation about food going, and it was obvious that the others grew hungry too.

"Alright," Tigress finally said. "Eat now, sleep later, okay?"

We made our way into the nearby forest to find something to eat. I was kind of unsure of what the others had wanted to eat, since we had no supplies available. I was almost so desperate that I offered to go steal something for us. But it appeared that the others had planned on getting some food that I disliked greatly: Herbs and vegetables! But the others, even Tigress, seemed to like it.

"Are you serious?" I asked and looked at the stuff they had found. It was all things from plants that I would never usually put in my mouth. The only kind of herbs I'd ever eat would be rice and sea weed, you know, like sushi. "I can't eat this."

"Why not?" Viper asked. She had been the one collecting most of the food, but she didn't seem to be in a mood for arguing about this.

"I'm not a vegetable-person," I said in a complaining voice. I hate to admit it, but I almost sounded like a child. "I'm more of a sushi-person."

"What about Tigress?" Crane asked. He was the only one who seemed to know what sushi was. "She's loves tofu, but she has no problem with this."

Tigress nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but… I'm not like Tigress," I told them, feeling hungrier and hungrier every second. "We're both felines, I know. But I just don't have the willpower to eat this."

"Hai, you can eat it, or go fetch your own food," Tigress suddenly said in a very cold voice, which seemed to surprise everyone. There was a long silence before I finally got to my feet and left without a word. I could hear them say something behind me, but I didn't even try to listen.

Tigress had technically told me to go, so why not just leave them and go get the treasure? I didn't care; they wouldn't care; they didn't need me; and I didn't need them. Besides, I had myself to worry about.


	9. NO! NO! NO! NO!

_Is it a crime, to fight, for what is mine?_

**Tupac Shakur**

* * *

><p>I woke up some time around noon. The forest was pretty quiet and the sun shone down through the treetops, creating patches of light of the forest floor. I stretched my arms and yawned. I had slept under a big tree, my back leaned up against the wooden log, and the shadow that it cast now was very intense, so it was very dark under the tree. But it had been a pleasant sleep nonetheless.<p>

"Hey." I froze in the middle of my stretching, and looked up. A dark silhouette of a person stood in front of me. Whoever it was, it was obviously a male, but his voice sounded kind of twisted, as if he tried to sound masculine somehow.

I turned my head to look for my sword. I had placed it somewhere beside me when I went to sleep last night. But now it was nowhere to be seen. I almost panicked. From the looks of it, this person wielded a staff, and if it came to a fight, I would be done for.

Suddenly, totally unexpected, the other person threw an object at me. I just barely caught it with my left hand and then I realized what it was; my sword! I looked up at the other person with a confused look. Why the heck would he give me my sword if he was here to fight or whatever? Maybe it was one of those _'honorable'_ persons… yuck!

"Who are you?" I asked and grabbed my sword's handle with my right hand, ready to draw it. I knew I could win if we had to fight; at least I hoped so.

There was a brief silence. Then the other person suddenly spoke in a brighter and much, much more feminine voice: "Hai?"

I just sat there, confused and not knowing who it was. The other person suddenly turned around and walked into one of the patches of sunlight on the forest floor. As soon as some color spread across her, I recognized the sand-colored fur, the darker brown stripes and the black outfit.

"Mei Ling?" I asked confused when I realized that it was her. I got to my feet and walked over to the sunny patch. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Mei Ling sighed. "I knew I shouldn't be here right now, but I just… Just felt like I was needed elsewhere."

"Why aren't you with the others?" she suddenly asked. I didn't really know what to tell her without making it sound wrong. I thought for a moment about what I should tell her. I would have to say something that wouldn't make her suspicious.

"We… got separated," I lied. I knew Mei Ling was a nice person, so for some reason I felt kind of bad when I lied to her. "We were attacked and…"

She just nodded understandingly, obviously believing me. I then quickly lied and told her that we were set to go to the inner parts of China. Instead of telling her about the treasure, I said that it was because we had to meet up with someone. I didn't tell her who though. If I could acquire Mei Ling's assistance in getting the treasure, I would have an easy time getting it. I might be able to make her a partner in crime and maybe even blame her and get away with the treasure… so many possibilities.

"So the others are already on their way," I lied to Mei Ling. "We should get going."

Soon Mei Ling and I were walking through the forest. I had no idea about where we were going, but I pretended to. If we could get to a town, or at least a village, we'd have better chances of finding the treasure – as well as some real food.

"Where exactly are we going?" Mei Ling asked me, much to my dismay. I didn't know any places where we could go, and if I tried to lie, she'd see it, since I would have to act like I knew anything about anything. When I told her the truth, that I didn't quite know, she said: "Oh, but that's fine. We can go to Master Shanqu and ask for directions."

I said nothing, but my mind was screaming 'NO! NO! NO! NO!' Soon Mei Ling was walking in another direction, and I could do nothing but follow her, and I couldn't help but wonder how she knew about him… but she had been on a Kung Fu Academy, so maybe she learned about him there. I was very insecure about going there, since the others might be there when we separated, and then I'd owe them an explanation for not coming back yesterday.

"Is something wrong?" Mei Ling suddenly asked me. She had probably seen my worried face and took it that something was wrong.

"No, you just surprised me," I lied as we kept walking. I knew I had to find a way of getting myself out of this trouble… but how? I could knock her out cold… no, she was a Kung Fu Master, and she'd probably be able to react in time. I could turn around and make a run for it… no, she'd probably catch up with me.

But before I could decide what to do, the forest suddenly parted, and we came into a valley. It was bigger than the Valley of Peace with lots of mountains surrounding it. I knew we were there now, so now there was no turning back… unfortunately.

We had barely gotten into the mountain village before we were greeted by the villagers. They seemed to mainly be sheep, just like in the Valley of Peace, but of a different species. They seemed nice enough, but not to the point of trusting us fully, I guess.

"Can we see Master Shanqu?" Mei Ling asked a sheep kindly.

"Oh yes," the sheep replied. She seemed eager somehow. Maybe because Po and the Five had already been here and maybe had mentioned me… no, if they had mentioned me, they wouldn't be this eager to help us.

Soon they led us to a house in the far end of the valley. It seemed to be a little away from the village itself, but nonetheless, it was just a house. It wasn't much bigger than the house of the Storm-Clan, but it wasn't nearly as pretty looking. Obviously this Shanqu person didn't care that much about looks.

When Mei Ling and I stood in front of the door, she knocked on it. At first nothing happened. I turned to look at the villagers in question, but they were gone. I looked back at the village, but the villagers had all seemed to vanish.

Were they afraid of Shanqu? If he protected them, why would they act like they feared him? Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted when the door was opened.

The one who had opened the door was a wolf. He stood almost two and a half heads taller than me, had brownish grey fur, and dark brown eyes. It was his clothes that caught my attention; he wore robe similar to Shifu's, but instead of a boring brownish color, his was black with white sleeves. The trims on the robes were golden, which stuck out the most, and almost made him look like an emperor or another man of high status. It didn't fit the house he lived in... at all.

"Greetings Master Shanqu," Mei Ling said and bowed down. I didn't want to seem rude – and therefore revealing – so I did the same. When I looked back up, I saw Shanqu return from a bow too, even though it hadn't been as long and low as ours.

"So what brings you two kittens up here?" he asked us, cautiously surveyed us, as if he read our life-stories by looking at us – I just hoped he couldn't.

"Well, have the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior been here recently?" I asked right away. Unfortunately I sounded like it would be a bad thing if they had, and Mei Ling also looked at me with a weird expression after that. I just coughed uncomfortably after that and waited for Shanqu to answer my question.

"No… Should they have?" he asked in a more suspicious tone after that.

"I don't know…" I said with a sigh. I felt kind of embarrassed at the fact that I just left them because of a problem as simple as food. "I… we know them and… well, they were supposed to come here."

Shanqu seemed to think deeply about what I had said. I looked nervously over at Mei Ling, hoping that she would say something to help me, but unfortunately she didn't.

"Hmm…" was all that Shanqu said. He had a rather suspicious tone, that kind of made me insecure and to be honest, I really wanted to just turn around and run away, even though that'd be kind of cowardly.

"So… Could we stay in this village for the night?" Mei Ling asked to break the awkward silence. I could almost hug her for saving me from that awkward moment, but I kept my cool.

"Of course," Shanqu replied. I was surprised at how he'd just let us into the village, but then again: he didn't know me. Suddenly he added: "But first, please tell me how you got here."

* * *

><p>Shanqu led us to something that looked like a pavilion of some sort. It was located in the outskirts of the village, a little away from Shanqu's house. The pavilion had a red roof and long red wood pillars that formed a circle that made it out for the actual pavilion. There was a little staircase of only three steps that was the entrance to the pavilion, and it had stony railings on each side. When the staircase ended, the railings became a circle around the pavilion as a stony fence. The fence had lots of motives carved into it; kanji, dragons and other creatures, such as phoenixes.<p>

Just before we entered the pavilion, I noticed a little black, metallic plate above the entrance with the kanji for _justice, order_ and _law_ forged in a golden color. It made me feel kind of uncomfortable, but I just followed Shanqu and Mei Ling into the pavilion. In the middle of the pavilion, there was a circular table with chairs forming a circle around it. Shanqu walked up and took a seat and Mei Ling and I sat down on the other side.

As I sat down, I looked around at the landscape near the pavilion. There was a big lake on the side facing the staircase. The water in the lake had a deep blue color, and taking a dip in it would probably feel great; if the villagers would allow me to do so… on the other hand, who cared?

"So, tell me your story," Shanqu said.

I then told them everything I had told everyone else. I told them that my dad was an old sailor and that he was very sick. I then explained how I had promised to fulfill the thing about finding the greatest treasure in the world.

"And that's why you met the others?" Mei Ling asked which seemed to surprise Shanqu. I had almost forgotten that I hadn't lied to or even told Mei Ling about my past.

"I thought you two knew each other," Shanqu then said with a surprised tone.

"Well… I guess we kind of do," I said. It wasn't really a lie, since we had met yesterday and talked a little since then, even though it wasn't that much. But she knew Crane and so did I. Then I told Shanqu about the incident in the village yesterday and about the Zhu-guy's intentions. Shanqu seemed to turn all serious when I told him about this, and he also muttered something about arrests to himself. It made me a little insecure, since I knew that I could end up in a cell any moment if I didn't act like Mei Ling.

After that I told them about how the others and I had been ambushed in the forest – which was something I completely made up. I said that we had been attacked by wolverine-troops when we were traveling towards Shan City.

"… and then I was chased off by wolverines," I lied to the two. They both seemed to believe me, which was good. "I was able to shake them off by hiding in the forest though. And then Mei Ling found me the morning after."

"Sounds like we better move out soon," Shanqu said, probably referring to him and the group of students he taught. If they were good enough to take out dummies like the ones I was used to, they'd be somewhat of a problem if I got into a fight with one of them. Suddenly I remembered the reason why I was even here; the treasure! I had to get going right now!

"You know what?" I suddenly asked, almost faster than Shunfeng would ask. "Mei Ling and I should probably get going now. Come on!"

I got up and was about to leave, but I was stopped by Shanqu.

"Wait! You should at least stay for the night," he said. He had a look in his eyes, which I couldn't decide whether I liked or not. "When you'll leave tomorrow morning, you'll be completely refreshed and you'll be able to travel further before nightfall."

Mei Ling accepted his offer, and I didn't see any need for that, since I had only woken up recently, and wasn't tired at all… but maybe something to eat would help. I hadn't eaten for almost two days now, and I would almost eat anything – _almost_.

"You can eat at my place," Shanqu offered as we got up and were about to leave. It concerned me a little, since that would mean that we'd have to be formal… and I didn't know anything about table manners. If I went to a dinner without knowing table manners, I'd probably get thrown out… or at least humiliate Mei Ling, and myself.

Shanqu told us to go do whatever we wanted to while he'd prepare some dinner. Mei Ling wanted to go see the village and the mountain area… I just wanted a bath. Shanqu said that there was a bathing area near his house. I was pretty much desperate, so I accepted right away and headed for the bathing house.

* * *

><p>Another fresh update! I haven't abandoned my other stories... I'll update that in a sec... but till then, it's New Millennium-Time! Please leave a review if you like it, Xiéxié!<p> 


	10. Aaaand I Got Busted!

_An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation._

**William James**

* * *

><p>The bath house was very plain designed on the inside. It was pretty much just a wooden little house with a big bath tub in the middle. For some reason the water seemed to be very hot already, but who cared about a reason why? I then used my sword to block the door, since I wouldn't want to get caught naked.<p>

I raised my arm and sniffed, just to see how badly I needed a bath. From the smell of it, I needed it very badly. I'm not all nuts about being clean, but seriously: I couldn't _stand_ the smell I radiated.

Soon I had taken off all my clothes and slid into the water and enjoyed the feel of water against my body, which I hadn't felt for quite a while.

* * *

><p>I sighed in relief as I exited the bath house. It felt good to be clean for once. In case you're wondering, a bath was a baht, and nothing happened in there. It had been nice, and I must have spent half an hour in there. I felt very fresh and able to run a marathon… come to think of it, I don't know what a marathon is… it just sounds athletic.<p>

I looked up at the sky and saw that clouds were forming in the mountains. Far away I was even able to hear the claps of thunder, and the wind was starting to blow with more power. My fur swirled around in the wind to the point of being uncomfortable. I proceeded to walk down the little staircase that led into the bath house. When I took my first step on the solid ground, I noticed that some of the fasteners on my vest weren't closed. Before I could even react, the wind made the last fasteners open by themselves.

I quickly tried to grab the silky fabric and stopped the vest from blowing like a flag in the wind. I got it under control and made sure to close _all_ the fasteners this time.

I looked up and suddenly saw a young boy in front of me. The little sheep had a scared face as if he was afraid of me. I was about to say something, but suddenly he ran off. I couldn't help but wonder why he had reacted like that. Maybe it was because of my sword; maybe he hadn't seen Mei Ling and I arrive, and therefore he was surprised at the fact that I had a sword.

No – it was my tattoo! The wind had probably been powerful enough and that meant…! I had to get out of there _now_! The little boy was probably going to tell Shanqu and if he did…!

But I would have to tell Mei Ling… I would have to come up with some lie. Maybe I just had time enough for that… I hurried into the village to find Mei Ling. She was easy to find, since she was the only other feline around, and everyone else were sheep. I found her around the outskirts of town near a flower field.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, trying to sound calm. She was on her knees and seemed to be meddling with something.

"Not much," she muttered in response. I knelt down beside her to see what she was doing. To me it looked like she wasn't even doing anything at the moment. Then I noticed some flowers in her hands. I didn't know exactly what she was doing, but whatever it was, she seemed to do it right.

"What do you think?" she suddenly asked me out of nowhere.

"About the flowers?" I asked confused. "I guess they're… fine…"

I was a little unsure of what to reply, since I had a neutral opinion about it, and I didn't really care much for flowers.

"Do you think Crane would like them?" This second question took me even more by surprise. Why would she ask me that? Like it even mattered! But wait! Maybe she…

"Eh… I'm sure he would," I told her, trying to sound like I cared. I knew I didn't have much time, so… "Actually, you know what? I have to go."

"What? Why?" she asked me surprised.

"I just can't stay any longer," I lied. "I have to find the others."

"But what if they come here?" Mei Ling asked me, almost sounding desperate. "Can't you just…?"

"Sorry, but I… _might_ see you later." And then I turned around and bumped right into a muscular chest.

"Eh… hi…" I said, trying to get out of trouble. Shanqu had an eyebrow raised and he certainly didn't look happy. I looked behind Shanqu and saw that there were a bunch of sheep behind him. They all seemed to be in their teens, and I guessed that they were his so-called students.

"Going somewhere… pirate?" Shanqu asked. I sighed and heard Mei Ling gasp in surprise behind me. It was probably the last thing she'd ever expect… okay, maybe not.

"Why yes I am," I told him. In one quick motion, I grabbed my sword and tried to hit Shanqu with it. Unfortunately, he had been faster than I expected. He had managed to stop my blade midair by catching it between his palms. Next thing I knew, I was hit by a punch in the face.

I fell backwards onto the ground. I grabbed my cheek to sustain the pain and I could feel how close Mei Ling was to me. She bowed down to help, but Shanqu stopped her.

"Stop!" he ordered her. "Girl, step away from that pirate…!"

Mei Ling had barely grabbed me by the shoulder to help me up before she quickly let go.

"That's really why," I informed her and rubbed my sore cheek. I got to my feet and jumped forwards and forced all my power into the slash I was about to hit Shanqu with. The grown-up wolf stepped aside with a swing and soon I was hit in the stomach by a kicking-technique I had never seen before and fell backwards onto the ground.

I immediately got up and started running. I know it's weak to just run away, but I was kind of desperate and didn't feel like I had a choice. I could hear noise behind me and I looked backwards to see Mei Ling watch me run away, while Shanqu's students had started chasing me.

Luckily the village was almost deserted around nighttime, so I didn't have anything or anyone who could possibly block my way. All I had to do was… run.

"Don't let him get away!" I heard one of the students yell. He sounded like a leader-type, but luckily it sounded like I was quite a step ahead. There wasn't far to the forest I had spent the previous night in, and if I could get in there, I would have an easy time hiding.

I finally got into the forest and I just kept on running, knowing I would have to find a good place to hide. The forest was almost completely dark, and my night vision immediately kicked in. I saw the forest around me in gray scale and chose a random path and hoped that it would lead me to safety.

At the end of the path I saw a sudden shadow, or at least I was just barely able to see it. The shadow seemed to be one of the students, but with my unclear gray scale night vision, it was hard to determinate. I stopped and was about to run in another direction when I saw a bunch of students stand in my way. They all had weapons and those were actually made out of metal, so I didn't really want to fight them.

Quickly I turned around, but that direction was blocked too. I turned around in circles, but I was completely surrounded. Finally I saw Shanqu stand and block the last direction.

The wolf took a step towards me and I took a battle pose, ready to fight. When the wolf stood around a half meter from me, I was truly scared due to the fact that I didn't know what he was going to do.

For a second he just stood there without doing anything. Suddenly I was hurled sideways by a massive kick in the head.

I fell to the ground and couched due to the pain from the impact. Suddenly Shanqu grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off the ground. He then pulled me in, so that his mouth was very close to my ear.

"We can do this the easy way, pirate," he said in a suggestive tone. "You can peacefully come with us to Chorh-Gom, or you can come to Chorh-Gom unconscious."

"Do… you seriously… think I'll give up to some _old_ sheriff?" I managed to ask, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I was thrown into the air. Soon Shanqu punched upwards, sending me upwards, but then he changed direction, so that he used his fist to force me down.

"I take it you want to fight till the end," Shanqu said in a very harsh and doubting tone. The impact with the ground had been painful and I could barely breathe by now. Shanqu pulled me off the ground and then pushed me backwards, and I had barely regained balance. I was very tired and exhausted, but I didn't want to commit to this guy. So even though my body was hurting, I immediately charged with my sword, but Shanqu simply stepped aside and soon I was kicked in the back.

I landed on the ground, and I tried to get up again, but I failed and collapsed on the ground.

* * *

><p>The feeling of having my legs dragged across a rocky floor. I opened my eyes and immediately noticed the darkness. I was inside some kind of cave from the looks of it. Suddenly I noticed that it looked like the rocky walls were carved out, so it looked like a fortress of some sort. I then realized that I was inside Chorh-Gom Prison. In case you don't know, it's like the best prison in Mongolia… wait, what? Was I in Mongolia? How did I get here so fast?<p>

I then noticed the two guards who were holding me. They carried me forwards and they were both rhinos and they wore heavy-looking armor. They were also very muscular-looking, and I knew I wouldn't have a chance of escaping.

Suddenly they turned around a corner and stopped by a cell. Inside the cell, there was some kind of weird statue… it looked like a bird of some sort, and it was pretty big… Before I could study it more, the cell-door was opened and I was thrown into the cell.

"Hey!" I quickly got to my feet and grabbed the metallic bars that kept me prisoner. I tried to shake them, but they didn't even move a millimeter.

"That's right, pirate," one of the guards said with a snicker. "You just stay here!"

"Let me out of here!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, but the guards were soon gone. I then noticed how much my body was hurting from the fight I had had with Shanqu. I think just about every inch of my body was numb and in pain, even though the transport to this place probably had taken at least two days. But somehow, I was still in pain.

"Would you please be quiet? I'm trying to sleep!" I jumped in surprise and turned around and looked around the cell. It was completely empty, other than the weird statue.

I walked over behind the statue to look behind it, just in case it might be an insect of some sort, even though locking her up in here would be pointless, due to the fact that no insect would be too big to escape the spaces between the bars.

"I'm right here, you idiot," the voice spoke again. This time the voice was harder to hear, as if I had passed the voice's owner and stood behind her. I walked up in front of the weird statue and took a closer look at it. It seemed to be made of some golden metal and it had something that looked like crescent moons carved on the front. The head of the statue seemed to look somewhat like an owl, and then I noticed a weird hole just above the beak of the statue.

Suddenly a pair of yellow eyes appeared. I jumped a little in surprise and looked a little closer at the person behind the metallic cage – or at least her eyes. Her eyes were as mentioned yellow, but her irises had a more bluish color. I wasn't really able to see much more, since the cage around her made it impossible.

"Yes, here I am," she said in a very sarcastic way and rolled her eyes. "Okay, here's the deal: You stay in that side of the cell, and just stay away from me."

"Hah," I muttered, due to the fact that I didn't know what side of the cell she meant. "And who'd stop me if I just did as I wanted?"

I then poked the head-area of the cage a few times, just to annoy her. I then chuckled at it afterwards and walked over to sit down by one of the cell-walls.

"Who are you anyways?" I asked her. "And why are you in a too small birdcage?"

"I'm the strongest warrior of my generation," the prisoner of the golden cage said proudly.

"Really?" I asked in a sarcastic tone. "Then how come you're locked in like this, Miss Birdie?"

I heard a snicker from outside the cell, and turned my head to see two guards pass by. Obviously they had found my comment funny, and I couldn't help but smile a little to myself. I heard the other prisoner growl: "Shouldn't you get back to your duties?"

"It was my right to take over the place where I was trained as the new Grandmaster," the other prisoner explained when the guards were gone. She actually sounded like she was relieved from finally talking about it; like she hadn't talked to anyone for years. "But someone else didn't think the same and got me locked up in here."

"Hmmm… okay," I said, as if I cared. "So who locked you in here?"

"The current Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior," she almost growled from inside the cage. "They…"

"Those guys?" I asked surprised and looked over at her eyes. Was she locked in this cursed prison by the people who I had been with for days? "Hah, maybe a good thing I left after all!"

"You know them?" she asked suspiciously from inside the cage. I would understand why she wouldn't believe me, since I was in prison too. Come to think of it, there was a bounty on me. Wait, this meant that Shanqu got the bounty! How could they give the money to _him_? I was about to have a mental rant about it, but the other prisoner interrupted my thoughts. "Did they get you in here as well?"

"No," I replied and calmed myself down. "It was this Shanqu-guy who got me here."

"But what did you mean with the _current_ Furious Five?" I asked after a few seconds of silence. Had there been other warriors to protect the Valley of Peace before those guys who did it now? Or was it their parents who had done it?

"The Furious Five have been in that… Valley for centuries, so there has been others, duh," she told me, as if I was stupid or something. "I was even part of the previous one."

"Oh really? So I guess you turned rogue," I said with a curious snicker and rubbed my chin. This conversation finally seemed to become interesting.

"Hmm… yes," she replied. "I was the best of us, even better than Shifu."

"You fought alongside Shifu in his younger days?" I asked surprised. Since Tigress wasn't around, and this other prisoner was locked in a cage, I saw my opportunity to have some fun. "You most be _OLD_!"

I know many women don't like being called old, and the reaction I got was just as good as desired. The other prisoner's cage started shaking and she squealed: "If I ever get out of here, I'll…"

"Hah, I'm looking forwards to it!" I laughed at her, which just seemed to make her angrier. I sighed in satisfaction and leaned back against the stony wall. "Either way, the Five aren't that hard to beat, so I doubt your title as the strongest…"

"I am," she growled. "Fenghuang is and _will_ always be the strongest of the Furious Five there ever was!"

"Fenghuang…?" I repeated, almost tasting the word. "So that's your name?"

"And so what if it is?" Fenghuang asked me.

"So nothing," I said as provoking and challenging as possible. "It's just nice to know people's names."

"Then what is _your_ name?" she asked me. I could tell that she was trying to sound charming and seductive, but that kind of stuff doesn't really work on me.

"Hai," I told her and walked over to her cage and gave it a few rapid dunks around her head, making the sound echo throughout the prison. "But names don't matter."

"So, Hai… Why did you get locked in here?" Fenghuang asked me in a more normal tone.

"Well, I came upon this guy who was some kind of sheriff of whatever," I told Fenghuang, leaning my back up against her cage all the while. "They saw my tattoo and… yeah, here I am."

"Your tattoo?" Fenghuang asked confused. I turned my head and got eye contact with her and chuckled.

"Yeah, like any other pirate," I said, still chuckling.

"Pirate?" Fenghuang muttered curiously, just like I had when I had first spoken her name.

"Yeah," I said again. "I'm not that impressive for a pirate… I don't even…" I reached behind my back to get my sword, but as you might already have guessed, it was gone. "… have a sword…"

"Hmm… how pathetic," Fenghuang chuckled at me.

"Hah, you should speak!" I said. "You're an _OLD_ lady locked inside a cage. That's pathetic!"

Again Fenghuang just about freaked out at the fact that I called her old, which I found totally hilarious.

"Oh you little…!" Fenghuang growled at me. "When I get out of here, I'll make a carpet out of you!"

* * *

><p>Okay, I know I just recently updated, but I'm so ****ing addicted to writing on this fic! I just can't stop and it's driving me insane! :(<p>

Anyways, I hope you guys will like this one!


	11. Worst Cellmate Ever?

_Adversities such as being homeless and going to prison have made many people stronger._

**Philip Emeagwali**

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning and stretched my arms. I had slept on the hard, stony floor, and it had taken quite some time to fall asleep yesterday. Not only because the floor was uncomfortable, but also because Fenghuang made lots of unpleased sounds from inside the cage, probably because it was very uncomfortable to sleep in there.<p>

I got to my feet and walked over to Fenghuang's cage, just to see if she was awake too. I couldn't see her yellow eyes, so I took it she wasn't awake. I was suddenly interrupted by a harsh voice coming from behind me.

"Breakfast," the rhino said. I walked over to the cell's door and the guard handed me two bowls or rice. The bowls weren't all that big; maybe twice as big as my clenched fist.

"What about her?" I asked and nodded towards Fenghuang. From the looks of it she wouldn't be able to eat it. But if she was, I couldn't understand how she would eat it.

"Since you're here, _you_ can have the honor of feeding her from now on," the guard snickered with his deep voice. This was just great. Fenghuang was just about the worst cellmate I could be locked in with, and now I had to feed her?

"Yeah, you better hurry up," Fenghuang said demandingly from behind me. "I'm hungry."

I walked over to Fenghuang's cage with a sigh of annoyance. I sat down my bowl of rice on the cell floor and grabbed two of the chopsticks that had been with the two bowls. I picked up a little chunk of rice with the two wooden sticks and led it up to the opening in Fenghuang's cage. I felt like teasing her, so I dropped the rice into the cage.

"Whoops, my finger slipped," I said as dully as you could possibly do when apologizing.

"Watch it you little…!" Before Fenghuang could finish the sentence, I had stuffed a chunk of rice into her mouth. She seemed a little surprised and unwilling at first, but then chewed a little and then swallowed the rice.

"That's better," Fenghuang told me. "A boy needs to know his place."

Again, I pretended to drop rice into her cage, which just ticked her off again – much to my amusement. I just ignored her and started feeding her again as she started with her death threats.

"Just shut up already," I said as I stuffed a chunk of rice into her mouth. Unexpectedly she suddenly grabbed one of the chopsticks with her strong beak somehow. Next thing I knew, I got a chopstick in the eye.

"AH! What was _that_ for?" I asked, knowing the answer. I grabbed my eye, trying to sustain the pain. Behind me I could hear a deep snicker, which was probably just some of the guards again.

I then decided that I didn't want to feed her for doing that. I turned to my own bowl of rice and started eating. If she wanted to eat, and if I had to feed her, she'd have to behave nicer. I know it was kind of my own fault, since I had spilled into her cage in the first place, but still…

"Hmmm… so what do you plan on doing?" Fenghuang asked me as she watched me eat. The rice was actually pretty good, and even though it was for the prisoners, whoever had cooked it, had at least tried their best to make it good.

"A lot," I muttered as I ate my rice. "But it depends on what you mean."

"I mean escaping," Fenghuang told me. "Or do you plan on staying here?"

Of course I didn't. I had tried to figure out how to get away when I went to sleep last night. The cell was pretty small and enclosed – there wasn't even a window or anything! One possibility would be to try and snatch the keys from the guard next time he came with food for us. Another option would be to simply try to pick the lock with a chopstick or something. One last way of escaping would be to use our chopsticks to remove the bricks in the cell one by one, but it would take forever, and I didn't have time for that.

I pretty much told Fenghuang about my ideas as I ate, and obviously she didn't think that any of those ideas were any good. But she didn't seem to have any herself.

"But just try whatever you want," she told me. I was a little surprised at the fact that she didn't tell me to get her out. But maybe it was just because she wanted me to get caught… or maybe she'd yell out and get me caught like that – just to her enjoyment.

"And you wouldn't mind feeding me some more, would you?" she asked in a flirting and seducing tone. I rolled my eyes and sighed. It wasn't because her flirting had had any effect, but I actually felt bad for her.

"Alright, fine," I told her when I had finished up my bowl of rice. I picked up her bowl, which I had placed next to her cage. I picked up her chopsticks too, and started feeding her again. I didn't have any expectations, but I hoped that she'd never do that chopstick-to-eye thing again.

"What about you?" I asked her as I fed her. "Haven't you tried to flee?"

"Of course," she told me, as if I was a complete idiot. I gave her another chunk of rice, and when she was done chewing, she said: "But it's hard when you can barely move at all."

When I was done feeding Fenghuang, the guard had returned to pick up the bowls and chopsticks. Just before I handed them to him, I saw that he had a bunch of keys hanging from his belt. If I could just snatch those keys, I – or maybe we – would have a chance of escaping.

I handed him the bowls and meanwhile, I tried to slip my hand through the bars of the cell and snatch his keys, but unfortunately he stepped back and I almost fell forwards.

"I don't think so, kitten," the rhino guard growled at me. I sighed and walked back to Fenghuang's cage.

"Hah, that went good," she said sarcastically. I just ignored her and tried to come up with a new plan. Maybe I wouldn't even have to bring her along, since it would also take some time to get her out of her cage, and by the time I had done that, the guards would most likely find out that I had unlocked the cell. It might sound selfish, but that's just who I am, so sue me!

"Maybe you could let me out," Fenghuang asked, very flirty and suggestively. "I could get you out and I haven't moved my wings for months."

"Yeah, right," I said sarcastically. I didn't want to let her out, since she might do the same thing, and give me a double-punishment… come to think of it; I don't even think it would make a difference, since I was probably supposed to have a lifetime-stay in here.

"I could get you out too," she continued in a flirty voice, still trying to convince me. I just ignored her and walked over to try and break out myself. I extended the claw on my right index-finger. I slid my arm though the space between the bars and moved it down towards the lock. I inserted my claw into the lock and tried to pick it.

"Is that seriously how you want to escape?" Fenghuang asked skeptically. "Has it ever worked?"

"Yeah," I told her as I did my thing. "I just need to be gentle."

My claw felt around inside the lock, and it appeared to be more complicated than I had thought at first. I tried to move my claw around, and up and down, as I tried to make the lock unlock. But unfortunately, it appeared to be harder than first anticipated. I had only tried to pick locks three or five times before, but that was to open something; unlocking something from the _inside_ was harder.

"Nice try, but I don't think it works," Fenghuang told me from behind me. She wasn't really that supportive, which really bothered me, since I at least did something to get out, while she did nothing.

"Do you have a better idea?" I asked her and withdrew my arm again. I walked back over to her cage and tapped it a few times around the head area, making metallic sounds echo throughout the prison.

"Yes, but you'll have to get me out," she said, flirty as ever. I sighed again at her attempt on letting me get her out.

"And if I do?" I asked with a challenging attitude as I crossed my arms and leaned my back against Fenghuang's cage.

"I can break the door open and we can leave," she said in the same tone, obviously still trying to convince me. I actually kind of thought about it for a second, but if I did let her out, and we broke out, there would still be countless guards to fight. From what I knew, the Anvil of Heaven was heavily armed, and even Fenghuang would have a hard time fighting them. But maybe…?

"Listen, if I let you out, we'll be dead," I told her. I looked over at her eyes, and from the looks of it she seemed to be frowning in confusion. "But if we get some help, we might have a chance of survival…"

I waited a while for her to get my hinting. In case you haven't figured out, I meant to release the other prisoners. I was sure they would help out, since they probably wanted to get out too.

"You mean…?" Fenghuang seemed to get my hint, and sounded very surprised. "But how are we going to do that?"

"I was thinking that I could get you out of there," I told her and walked around the cage to find a weak spot or something. "And then you could knock out the next guard that would come by."

"Then I'd snatch his keys, you'd distract the other guards and I'd use the guard's keys to get everyone else out," I continued after a few seconds of inspecting the cage. Unfortunately I hadn't really been able to find a weak spot.

Maybe we'd be able to get her out if I picked the… no, there didn't appear to be any lock on this cage. But how come she wasn't able to escape? Suddenly I noticed that there were some plates that looked like wings on the sides of the cage. Of course I had seen that before, but now I noticed that they were fastened with screws.

"I think I've got it now," I told her and inspected the screws. They seemed to be fastened tightly, but maybe if I got those off, she'd be able to get out. I extended the claw on my index finger again and tried to see if I could turn the screw. It was very tight, but I was just barely able to turn it very, very little to the left.

"What are you doing?" Fenghuang asked me as I worked on the screw.

"Trying to get you out." I gritted my teeth as I put all my force into turning the screw. Whoever had made it hadn't gone cheap on it, and even with all my force, I was only able to turn it very slowly. If I was to get all these screws off, I'd be just as old as Fenghuang when that happened.

"You know what?" I asked her as a new idea popped into my head. "I've got a better idea."

I was sure this new idea would get one of us killed, but hopefully it would break the cage. Before Fenghuang could ask what it was, I stepped backwards over to the cell's wall and then ran towards her cage at full speed. And before she knew it, I threw myself against the metallic cage.

The impact was just as painful as I expected, and so was the effect. Fenghuang's cage tipped over and landed on the hard, stony floor with a loud metallic sound. Oh, and by the way, I landed on top of the cage, so that was just that much better.

"What was that about?" Fenghuang growled at me. I groaned in pain and got off her cage and rose to my feet. My entire right side was numb from the impact, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't ignore it.

"Getting you out," I replied and turned her cage around to see how much damage I had caused to the cage. It wasn't quite enough, but the one wing-piece on the cage seemed to be damaged, and I was just able to peek through a hole – not that I was looking at anything… Anyways, the wing-piece was bended a little, and just then did I realize how thin it actually was.

"Maybe if you help me," I started and placed three of the fingers on my right hand into the hole. "We might be able to get you out."

She seemed to understand, and as I pulled at the metallic plate, she pushed against it. I jumped in surprise when one of the screws suddenly flew past my face and hit the stony cell-wall.

I was afraid some guards might have heard us, and I suddenly heard footsteps. I started panicking, since I wouldn't be able to get the cage back up and if the guards saw us like this, they'd probably get suspicious.

When I decided that it was safe, I was about to continue, but then I suddenly heard footsteps coming towards the cell. I saw no other option but to turn the cage so that the broken wing-piece wasn't visible, but that'd only be possible from one angle.

"Wait, what are you…?" The rest of Fenghuang's words were muffled by the floor as I turned the cage. I quickly sat on the back of the cage, so it'd look like I had turned it on purpose just to annoy Fenghuang.

"What have you been doing?" the guard growled at me when he finally got into sight. He had a very suspicious face on, and I just sat there and kept my cool, while I could hear the muffled sound of Fenghuang's complaining.

"She just really ticked me off," I lied… or rather told him, since it wasn't a straight up lie…

"I thought she would," the guard snickered before continuing his inspection of the cells. I just sat there on top of Fenghuang's cage for a minute or so, just to make sure that the guard was gone. Finally I turned Fenghuang's cage back, so that her face was turned upwards.

"What was that about?" she asked in an angry tone, panting heavily. Obviously I had almost blocked for her breathing – oops…

"I had to come up with something, right?" I asked her and turned back to the hole in her cage. I grabbed the metallic plate with my hand once again and told her to push. At the same time I pulled as hard as I could. A few more screws flew out of the metallic plate and onto the walls, and we stopped again.

I was now able to see more of Fenghuang's body, and I was surprised at how the cage seemed to perfectly fit her. Either she was good at keeping her figure, or maybe it was too small when she was put in it at first.

"Wait," Fenghuang suddenly told me. "I can move my wing, so I should be able to get myself out."

"How?" I asked. Fenghuang then told me to step back and I stepped over to the cell wall, waiting for whatever would happen.

Suddenly a blue light emerged from the cage. I had never seen anything like it, other than fireworks, but where would she get that from? Suddenly the metallic plate literally flew off and flew towards me. I just barely managed to jump aside as the plate crashed against the wall behind me. I looked up again to see Fenghuang emerge from the cage.

She was actually a lot prettier than I had expected. She was an owl as I had suspected, and she was covered in grey feathers. No, not old light gray, I mean like a natural _dark_ gray… it doesn't make sense, but I knew her feathers weren't gray because of old age – oddly enough. The feathers on her face were white and there was a black pattern of spots around her neck. I also noticed some remarkably long eyebrows, and also something that looked like horns… at least long extensions that extended from her forehead. Her eyelids also looked kind of purple and she had a circle of purple feathers above her beak. Her eyes were yellow and her irises were clear blue and almost seemed to radiate intelligence.  
>Her robes were blue with a golden trim, which looked kind of expensive. Her beak was grey with a red spot on the tip and it wasn't really that big, due to the fact that she was an owl. Her wings were very long, and they even seemed to be longer than Crane's. The feathers on her wings were black and on the underside they were white. The first and longest five feathers on her wings, that kind of reminded me of fingers, oddly enough looked like they were metallic somehow.<p>

"How'd you do that?" I asked her, still a little stunned at the way she had made the plate fly across the room.

"The Thundering Wind Hammer," she told me. Suddenly I heard lots of footsteps coming towards us. Fenghuang suddenly took off and raced towards the cell door. It was obvious that she enjoyed being able to move again. She suddenly brought her wings forwards, and just confirmed that she had metallic blades on her wingtips by slashing through the metallic bars. As soon as she had broken out, she flew to the right, obviously towards the coming guards. Soon I heard a fight break out, but the only ones who screamed in pain were the guards.

I carefully sneaked up to the door, and crawled through the hole that Fenghuang had made, to have a better look on the battle, but just as I did, a bunch of keys were thrown towards me by Fenghuang. I picked up the keys and watched her fight for a few seconds. She used Kung Fu, but not any moves I had ever seen Po and the Five use. But it was impressive nonetheless. I then remembered what I was supposed to do and turned around and ran towards the other cells to see who was locked in there.

* * *

><p>Aaaannd I did it again: uploaded a new chapter before I could get to update my other fic... -_-<p>

Whatever, hope ya'll like this chapter! If you like, please leave a review like always! ^-^


	12. Goodbye Prison, Hello Baozhai!

_Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is._

**Hans Urs von Balthasar**

* * *

><p>The nearest cell was around fifty meters from the one Fenghuang and I had been stuck in. The prisoners were a bunch of crocodiles and… some kind of small… thing. This thing had brown fur on its body, light brown skin on its head and enormous yellow eyes. He wore some blue, or actually rather purple, pants and just stood there and stared at me.<p>

"So, who are you?" the little person asked me after a few seconds of silence. I was almost surprised at the fact that he was able to even talk.

"I'm Hai Zei," I told him. Soon one of the crocodiles had joined him on the other side of the cell. He was tall, covered in green scales, and just like the other crocodiles, he wore a pair of loose-sitting pants, but he also wore a helmet, which made him stand out. "I…"

"Oh wait, you're that guy who got locked in with that crazy owl," the crocodile snickered. "Did you really try to pick the lock with your claw?"

The crocodiles all started laughing – some very dumb-sounding laughs that sounded kind of forced and half-hearted. Yeah, minions – you've got to love them!

"Anyways," I started when they were done laughing at me. "I assume you want to get out." They all nodded and even started murmuring about what they wanted to do when they got out. "And I'm here to let you out."

"Oh really?" the little big-eyed monkey-thing asked me suspiciously. "What do we have to do in return?"

"Why would you think that we'd have to do anything in return?" the crocodile-leader asked carelessly. "He's a prisoner as well, and…"

"All you have to do is to do as I say." When I finished the sentence, they all started laughing at me, like it was some kind of joke. It kind of annoyed me a little, since I actually wanted to get them out. Then, just to show them that I was serious, I held up the keys and let them swirl around my index finger.

"Never mind those low-intellectual reptiles," the little creature said, obviously changing his mind. "My name is Tong Fo, and I'll gladly give you my assistance."

_So at least I could get him to join me._ I then said that only Tong Fo would be allowed to get out, since he had committed to my leadership. This of course made all the crocodiles complain out loudly, except their leader who tried to keep his cool.

"Come on Fung, why don't we just listen to him?" one of the minor crocodiles asked. He was soon joined by his fellow reptiles, and then he turned to me and said: "I'll be helping you, Sir Zei."

This 'Sir Zei' thing made me want to laugh, but I just smiled a faint smile. It also seemed to be too much for Fung. The big crocodile growled in annoyance and said: "Alright, alright, we'll do as you say… but don't expect me to call you sir."

I chuckled to myself and let them out of the cold cell. Soon they all stood in front of me and we moved onto the next cell. This cell's prisoner was a big, strong-looking rhino. His skin was grey and he had a thick horn, as well as very big nostrils. He wore some brown leathery clothes with metallic knobs on them. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that he was a guard who had accidentally locked himself in somehow.

"Hey there big guy," I said to the rhino. "Would you…?"

"Yes," he replied, even before I had asked him to join us. "I'll gladly join you."

"Seriously?" Fung asked with a skeptic tone and a raised eyebrow.

The rhino guy nodded and then said: "Because then I'll be able to get out of this dirty, cold prison." I was about to say something, but he continued. "Then I'll be able to get my revenge on the Dragon Warrior for insulting my honor, and…"

"Okay, that's nice, but can you wait with beating up Po till we get out?" I asked and got the rhino guy out of his long speech. He nodded and I let him out of the cell. I then gave the keys to the rhino – who was named Hundun by the way – and told him to get the rest of the prisoners out, but only if they agreed to join forces with us.

"Okay, let's go," I told the others. We then ran up to the fight and joined Fenghuang. She had knocked a lot of guards unconscious, but they still kept on coming.

"Was that really all you could get?" Fenghuang asked me as I avoided the blade of one of the guards' axe. These guys were armed and outnumbering us, and I was pretty much helpless without a weapon. The crocodiles seemed skilled enough to fight, and so did Tong Fo.

"Well, I got this guy out and told him to get the others," I told her as I avoided another slash. Suddenly I realized that the weapons of the knocked out rhinos just lay on the floor. I quickly picked up a wooden staff. It was about as long as Mei Ling's, but it differed from hers by having metallic knobs on it, except the middle which was wrapped with a piece of fabric, so that the user could hold it.

I swung the staff and hit a rhino in the face and made him fall onto his back. Soon the guards also charged me, as they probably realized that I was a bigger threat than I looked. I spun the staff above my head with both my hands to intimidate them a little (But also to show off a little… don't judge me). I jumped forwards and bashed the one end of the staff into the head of one of the rhinos, then quickly withdrew it, swung it in another direction and swept the feet of another away.

The battle went pretty good, but suddenly the rhinos started cornering us and soon I stood back-to-back with Fenghuang with rhinos on each side. I looked over to see that the crocodiles were easily handling the guards, maybe due to their almost equal size.

"Looks like we need to work together a little more," I told her after avoiding another axe. Her back was pressed against mine, and the feathery back of her head brushed against mine.

"Guess so," she said as the rhinos closed in on us.

"What about you go up, and I go down?" I asked her, referring to the way we'd knock out some of the guards.

"Sounds good to me." Then I ducked and swung the staff to the left, aiming for the rhinos' feet. At the same time Fenghuang rotated her body to the left too, using her massive wings to attack the heads of the rhinos on the other side, so that both sides were hit by our combo attack. The rhinos that had formed a circle around us fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Heh, that was fun," I told her, but before we could laugh at the rhinos, a bunch of fifteen guards entered. Soon I heard some noise from behind us and saw the rhino-prisoner and a bunch of other people come towards us. They were pretty many, and if I'd have to look closely at all of them, I'd be dead before I got done.

Suddenly a bunch of humongous gorillas rumbled past me and attacked the guards. I whistled in amazement and was just glad that they were on our side. Soon the gorillas had knocked out the guards with massive punches and they had also thrown them around.

"I gathered all the corporative prisoners," Hundun told me and threw the keys at a knocked out guard. I chuckled at the fact that it meant that there were still prisoners locked in because they refused to join us.

"Alright, let's go." I was about to leave, but stopped, which made the prisoners behind me do so too. I saw a door that was slightly opened. Behind it I saw some kind of metallic object and carefully walked towards it. I opened the door completely and revealed a big metallic dragon-statue. I recognized the golden body, the long horns, the dark gray spines, the long legs with wheels attached to them… and last but not least; the big tube inside the dragon's mouth.

"Ah… I know what this is," I said to myself and chuckled at my find. I had seen these before; dad had one on his ship, which he had stolen from some guy in the mountains a few years ago. At that time, I was kind of grounded – on kitchen duty – so I hadn't been with him on the raid.

"Could you guys please pull this out?" I asked two of the gorillas. They obediently walked over and dragged the canon out. It was just as impressive and expensive-looking as the one dad owned. I knew just how heavy it was, and I was glad that the gorillas had agreed to help me.

"Now aim it at… that wall," I said and pointed towards the wall in front of us. And so they did. The wall I told them to aim at was the exit and it was a few hundred meters from us, but I was sure the canon could fire long enough. Soon a wolf walked up and lit the canon. Whoever the idiot who had left the canon loaded was, he should have been fired from Chorh-Gom – but I'd give him a promotion after my book. Soon a loud firing noise was heard, shortly followed by a great and definitely epic explosion in front of us.

* * *

><p>We made our way through the exploded wall. The rests of the gate was still on fire, and so was some of the near vegetation, but we kept going. The place that Chorh-Gom was located in was covered in snow, and some of the snow was even melted due to the heat of the explosion.<p>

I walked up front with the rest of the prisoners walking behind me in one big group. If I could see us, I'd probably think we looked pretty epic as we slowly walked out from the prison's walls. There were some flames in front of us, but hopefully they'd subside before we reached them.

"Eh… just why are we going so slowly?" Tung Fo asked after about fifteen seconds of silent walking.

"Well, if anyone was here, I thought it'd look cool," I told him, which just caused him to sigh. I know it sounded crazy, but if you had been there, you'd understand what I meant.

Just as everything seemed to be great, I suddenly saw six people in front of us when the flames in front of us subsided, due to being put out by the snow on the ground. I was a little surprised, but a distant part of me had actually expected someone to wait for us. There was a marbled cat, an otter, a fox, a reindeer, a bat of some sort, a snow leopard and… Tigress?

No, it wasn't Tigress. Well physically this other tigress looked like the Tigress I knew, but her outfit was completely different. Like the others she wore a crimson robe with a black cape, which blew in the wind like a flag of some sort. But the biggest difference was her fur; it was as white as snow! I had never seen a white tigress or feline in general, so it really surprised me to see one now.

"You're not getting any longer, criminals," the tigress spoke. She even sounded like tigress, but there was something else about her that appeared familiar. Then I remembered. She was a bounty hunter! I had dealt with her back when I was ten years old (My first crime by the way) and I had tricked her so that I could escape. I didn't actually know her name though, but her profession made me unable to care less.

"Oh it's you again," I said in a teasing way. "Long time, no chase, huh?"

The tigress' face changed when she recognized me. Her blue eyes locked on me and then she said: "You! Wait, come to think of it, I'm not surprised to see you here."

Suddenly the six grabbed their capes and threw them into the air. The capes got caught by the wind and flew aside and out of sight. Soon they charged us. There was luckily a good hundred meter distance between them and us, so we'd have a chance to make a counter attack.

"Okay men – and woman! If you want your freedom, we need to crush the obstacles in front of us… are you with me?" My question was replied by a "Yes!" from all of them (Fenghuang and Fung sounded rather half-hearted), and then we just charged into battle.

Fenghuang took on the bat, Fung and his minions took on the snow-leopard, Tung Fo and the other prisoners took on the rest. The gorillas left the canon and joined some wolves in the fight. And I had the honor of taking on the white tigress.

I still had the staff and from the looks of it, she had no weapons, so I'd have an advantage against her. I walked slowly towards her, hoping that she'd charge me at full speed, since I would bash the staff against her then. But she didn't. She walked just as slowly towards me as the heated battle raged around us. I could hear and see the others fight against the tigress' friends – Fung, his minions, Ton Fo, Fenghuang, and whoever had been imprisoned. My eyes looked around and followed their every move as I slowly and securely made my way towards the tigress. It was actually like we were each other's reflection, due to the fact that we moved very slowly towards each other. We both stopped when there was only one meter between the two of us. I looked deeply into those icy blue eyes, while she looked into my yellow ones.

"Hai," she said, obviously remembering my name too well.

"B-… something," I said, obviously not remembering her name.

"Baozhai," she said annoyed.

"Baozhai then," I said. Then we both took a step backwards and then lunged forwards, almost synchronized. I aimed for her head with my staff at full speed and with all my power focused into the attack. But Baozhai caught it in her hand, stopped me and then jumped into the air and smashed her right foot against my left cheek. I fell sideways and made a roll when I hit the ground. The impact had been very hard, and my cheek hurt so much that I almost thought she had knocked it loose. But I knew I had to keep fighting her; if we gave up, we'd be locked in again, and then how were we supposed to ever escape again?

I jumped forwards, holding the one end of the staff, and pretended to slam it downwards towards Baozhai, but in the last second I spun around myself in a circle, lowered the staff in the process and hit Baozhai's feet. She fell onto her back, but was soon back onto her feet again.

"Looks like you've improved," she said. The tone she had said it in made it sound like a mix between a distraction and a compliment.

"Oh, don't act like you're surprised," I said after she had avoided one of my attacks with the staff. "But I've got to say: you actually look like you know what you're doing."

Suddenly she grabbed the staff with her left hand, spun around herself, so that she came closer to me, while holding the staff in place with her strong hand. Suddenly I got an elbow in the chest and was sent a few feet backwards. When I looked back up, she tried to use the staff against me. She aimed for my feet, but I jumped into the air, and somehow I was able to do a backflip. I landed safely on my feet, but stopped due to the surprise of being able to make a backflip. My distraction did seem to be worst for myself; a second later, the staff was bashed against my head.

"Hey, that's not nice." The metallic knobs had been painful to get in facial contact with, and I was sure it was going to leave a mark the day after. When Baozhai tried to hit me with the staff again, I grabbed it too, and tried to force it from her. She tried to spin around herself as she tried to make me let go, but I kept holding on. Suddenly I pulled back roughly, and it made her lose her grip.

I turned back to Baozhai, but before I could attack, she tried to punch me. Her right fist came closer and closer to my head, but I brought up the staff, hoping that it'd be enough to stop her.

Unfortunately it broke in two halves. Her fist even continued and contacted with my face, sending me backwards. The punch had been very powerful and I was just barely able to stop as I was shot backwards. I looked up again and realized that she had the one half of the staff.

Now it felt more like a sword, and I hoped that it'd give me some kind of advantage, since I was more skilled with swords. I grabbed the end where the staff had broken with both hands and charged her like I would have with a sword.

Baozhai made a counter attack and tried to hit me in the chest with the end of the staff. I quickly slammed her staff away with my own and then tried to slash her with mine. I successfully hit her, but it didn't make her bleed or anything, but I knew the metallic knobs must have been at least a little hurtful.

Suddenly Baozhai charged me again. She attacked me with the same ferocity I had seen Tigress use against me too. She had thrown her staff-piece aside, and now attacked me with her fists. I used my staff to block most of her attacks, but she _did_ hit me a few times. Though her style reminded me of Tigress', there was still something… more to it. It was more graceful and Baozhai's movements were smoother than Tigress', which were moves of pure strength; seemed like there was more technique than strength into Baozhai's style. Not to compliment her too much though, since she was my foe right now.

I used my staff-piece to block a down moving punch from her, and then kicked her stomach region. The kick sent her backwards and obviously I had stronger leg muscles than I thought. Soon I noticed a strange energy surge through me. I felt like I could lift ten times the weight my dad's ship. I suddenly felt like there was no need for the staff and simply threw it aside. You know how it is when you eat too much sugar? It's like the same feeling, just much, much stronger.

Next I was the one to charged Baozhai, and I jumped forwards with a midair kick. It was like someone else controlled me and I could barely feel it when my foot contacted with her chest area. She stumbled backwards, obviously surprised at the kick I had just made. Soon she charged me with a punch. But somehow I brought up both my hands in a defending manner. When her fist contacted with my palms, I swung them to the left, pulling her arm along. Next up I gave her an elbow in the chest.

"How'd you do that?" Baozhai asked and rubbed her chest area to sustain the pain. "Have you learned Kung Fu?"

"No," I replied in a very confused way. "What do you mean?"

"That move," she replied and looked at me with a surprised expression. "The Double Wing-Beat… it takes lots of training…"

I looked down at myself, almost expecting to find a strong and overly muscular body, but I only saw my own normal body and nothing unusual. The energy rush I had felt seconds ago also seemed to subside. The awareness and the fighting techniques all disappeared like rice in a bowl.

I didn't know how I did that wing-beat thing, but I wish I did, so that I could survive against Baozhai for the rest of the battle, but to my surprise she just sighed and turned around. "Follow us."

Baozhai's comrades had also stopped fighting and now they were all heading for the same direction. Wherever they were going I didn't know. I looked at the other prisoners. They hadn't taken much damage, and seemed to be all fine.

Fenghuang landed beside me and asked: "What'd you do now?"

I just shrugged and started following Baozhai and her friends. "I don't know… but _they_ might."

I looked backwards to see that the other prisoners just walked in other directions with faces that said: "We helped you fight, now our freedom." But Fenghuang stayed… as the only one, which is more than I'd expect from her… but she did.

* * *

><p>Finally here's an update! Sorry for the long wait, but I'm on vacation, and there's not really any Wi-Fi in the jungle, but I'm currently staying in the city, so I was just able to uodate now... anyways, hope you'll like it!<p> 


	13. Finally Closer to the Truth, a Special!

Here's the thirteenth chapter... I made it extra long (Plus we finally get closer to the truth of Hai's purpose in the world) because thirteen is my lucky number, heh heh... Also, special announcement and 'gift' for you guys who like and follow the story at the end! Thanks for sticking with us all this time! ;D

* * *

><p><em>If you don't start anything, nothing will happen.<em>

**Yudai Chiba****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Baozhai and her friends led me and Fenghuang into the forest near the prison. The forest didn't have a single leaf on any of its trees due to the fact that there was snow and the air was frozen. When we had fought, I hadn't felt this cold, but now I almost froze my tail off. The snow also reached me to the ankles and my thin pants were drenched. And to make it even worse, it started snowing. My sandals weren't any good in this environment either, since… well, they were sandals.<p>

I did my best to keep my teeth from clapping together, and crossed my arms, hoping that it would help. It did, but not very much. Wherever we were going, I just hoped that we'd get there fast.

I looked over at Fenghuang and when she got eye-contact with me, I slowed a little down on purpose, so that we could talk without having the seven hearing what we talked about.

"What happened?" she asked me in a whisper when we were about three meters behind the others.

"I don't know," I whispered back. "I was just fighting Baozhai when… I knew Kung Fu suddenly."

Just as I said the last part of the sentence I figured out what had happened. Well, not _how_ it happened, but I knew _what_ had happened. Now I just needed to figure out _how_ and _why_. Maybe I got the experience from watching and meeting so many Kung Fu Masters. Think about it; I had met like twenty-five different Masters already and I had watched them all fight – I had even fought against some of them. Maybe I had… inherited some of their experience somehow?

But even if I had, how come the feeling of extra energy had disappeared and only had kicked in in the middle of the fight? Maybe it was something that was only usable when I was in trouble, or maybe it was something I'd have to learn how to use.

"You did?" Fenghuang asked surprised.

"Yeah… I did some wing-beat technique," I explained in a whisper. I remembered the name of the technique – the Double Wing-Beat – but I didn't really care enough to say it right. "But I don't know how…"

"Whatever," she just said. "At least it made them stop fighting us, and everyone could escape… so who cares?"

I just shrugged and then walked up front to Baozhai, who was the one leading us all. I then looked at her teammates. "So, who are your friends?"

She then introduced me to her friends. There was Ai, an otter. She was covered in brown fur and had a pretty face with dark brown eyes; Mei Feng, the fox, had red fur, which almost seemed to glow in the cold, snowy scenery; Lihua, a Marbled Cat, whose fur was bark-brown with darker and brighter patterns, which would give her good camouflage in a lush forest, but out in this bare forest, it would only be a handicap; Changchang was the name of the reindeer. She had brown fur with a bit of a gray shade, as well as some white, and she was the tallest of them all; then there was Daiyu, the bat. She had big ears and a strange, leaf-like nose and leather-like wings. Her fur had a grayish, creamy color and her eyes were completely black; and lastly there was Fang the Snow Leopard. Her fur was gray with black spots and white fur around her muzzle and her underside. Her eyes were clear yellow, which really stuck out compared to the eyes of the others. They all wore the same type of outfit: Kung Fu dresses, even though they had a thick-looking jacket covering their torsos. The jackets were all brown, but the dresses under them were colorful, so they almost looked like Mandarin Priestesses. It also turned out that they were the Extreme Eight.

"Eight?" I asked confused as this team also seemed to fail at basic math. The six women quickly looked at Baozhai as if I wasn't meant to hear about the fact that they were seven who called themselves eight. Baozhai could probably feel that they didn't want to talk about it too and just said that it was none of my business.

"What were you even doing here anyway?" I asked as we continued walking.

"We were just nearby and decided to check out the noise," she explained. Her teammates hadn't even said that much the whole time; only a few words between one another, but not really anything I was able to get anything out of.

"We? Does that only mean you guys?" I asked as we kept walking. I could feel that talking and walking actually helped a little on the temperature-problem.

"No, unfortunately not," Ai told me. "We're here along with a lot of refugees."

"Refugees?" Fenghuang asked. She had suddenly joined us and was walking beside me. And just for the record, it didn't suit her to be walking; flying was more her thing.

"Kung Fu Masters," Baozhai explained with a sad voice. It sounded like she just wanted to sleep; as if she had been on the move for days without sleep. And if she had helped refugees flee, she probably had. "There are soldiers attacking the Masters all over China. They're sent…"

"… by some idiot called Zhu," I finished the sentence. "I've come across his dummies quite a few times…"

"How can you take so easy on this?" Baozhai growled at me, obviously ticked off by my attitude.

"Sorry, but I don't think that this Zhu will be too hard to defeat," I told her, trying to defend myself in the conversation.

"Oh really?" she asked me, obviously on the edge of anger. "If that's so, how come all the Kung Fu Masters of China can't even stand up to his troops?"

"Okay, okay," I told her, pretending to surrender. "I'm just saying he's an idiot, not that his soldiers are weak… though in small numbers, they are."

Baozhai just sighed and ignored me as we kept walking. I looked around at her teammates again. I didn't really know who they were, other than their names, but they didn't seem to be bounty hunters – don't ask how, but I just knew. They also seemed to be too nice for such a thing. I know you can't judge people that way, but that's the way I saw them.

Suddenly we came to a clearing in the frozen forest. It was very big and there was a little house that was made out of wood, as well as a lot of tents. There were also some campfires near the tents and various people were sitting around them, trying to get warm. I was shocked to see this many people – around forty – and to think about that they were all Kung Fu Masters, who had been chased off by Zhu's soldiers.

"This is what Baozhai meant," Daiyu the bat told me as Fenghuang and I looked around at the people who had gathered here. "No Master has been able to defend him- or herself against Zhu's army."

This would be the moment where I would usually make some sassy and self-conscious comment, but I didn't know what to say. Maybe this meant that I had only faced the easy soldiers, and that there were stronger soldiers somewhere out there, who had taken on the other Masters, while we had only faced the second-class soldiers.

We all walked towards the house in the middle of the tents. It was made of wood and seemed to be very old. It wasn't all that big, around as big as three of the rooms in the Jade Palace's Barracks. There was only a door and a few windows on each side and there was smoke emerging from the chimney.

Ai walked right up and knocked the wooden door, which opened a few seconds later. The one who opened the door was a little dog-like creature. She was about the same height as Shifu, and the main differences were the fact that she didn't have a beard – logically – and her fur was dark brown instead of white and red. She also had some bright fur around her face and the dark fur on her face made it look like she wore a mask of some sort. Her robes were entirely black, giving her a very... dark feel.

"Yes, what is it Ai?" the dog asked. Her voice was very old sounding – possibly older than Shifu – and she seemed to be very tired.

"We found him," Baozhai replied before Ai or any of the others could get to it. Suddenly a bunch of recognizable people showed up behind her; Tigress, Mei Ling, her leopard friend Qiu, Crane and Master Shifu. As soon as Mei Ling saw me, she gasped and her eyes widened. Obviously she remembered the time we parted too well.

"You…?" Everyone looked over at Mei Ling when she said this. Soon I had made my way past Baozhai and her friends and just tried to get away. I hadn't even gotten that far before someone yelled "Stop the pirate!" and I made a run for it.

I heard a lot of nose after that, but I just tried to get away from the camp. I could hear the campers get to their feet and suddenly something dashed over in front of me. It was three small insects, a stag beetle, a grasshopper, and a… Mantis?

"Hai? What are you doing here?" Mantis asked confused when he saw me and realized that it was me. "Where's the pirate?"

"He is the pirate!" someone I didn't know yelled. Now I was for sure dead. There were at least thirty campers here and if they were all Kung Fu Masters… I think you know what I mean. I was about to try and make my way past Mantis and his two companions, but suddenly they all three darted at me. They all three hit my chest with a kick at the same time, and despite their size they had hit me very hard. I stumbled backwards and soon I was surrounded by Kung Fu Masters. There were around ten standing around me in a circle and now I had nowhere to turn… suddenly Fenghuang landed beside me, probably because we were kind of on the same side at this point.

"So she brought us here for this?" Fenghuang said in a voice that made it sounded like it was my fault for whatever reason. I then heard someone mutter something about Fenghuang and how she could impossibly be here. Obviously they all knew that she was locked in for a reason.

Suddenly Baozhai and her friends jumped over the other Masters, and landed so that they stood in a smaller circle around Fenghuang and me.

"They're with us," Baozhai growled at the others. They did seem to have some respect for Baozhai, but didn't back that far away.

"I wouldn't actually trust him if I were you," an all too familiar voice spoke. I looked backwards and saw the circle of Masters split up. Where the circle split Tigress, Po, Crane, Monkey and Viper appeared. They were just about the last people I expected to see.

"I know," Baozhai told Tigress. Come to think of it, they had almost the exact same voices! "So what about you just let me handle this, Tigress?"

"What makes you think I can't handle Hai?" Tigress asked with a raised eyebrow. I could feel the intensity in the air and everyone stopped, just to look at Tigress, Baozhai and the heated argument that was about to come.

"Well, a good leader would know how to lead her team to safety instead of fighting to the point where they almost get killed," Baozhai told Tigress, which made the remaining Five look at Tigress as they expected an answer from her.

"That has nothing to do with it," Tigress growled. "And just to make it clear; I know Hai!"

"Oh really? I bet _you_ haven't tried to chase him through _three_ mountain villages and _one_ city!"

After that, the real yelling at each other started. Everyone was so caught up in it that Fenghuang and I managed to sneak past everyone. We carefully continued our sneaking as the arguing over me continued. I chuckled a little at the fact that we had been able to get away just because they were talking about me, but suddenly Tigress and Baozhai yelled in unison: "Hai! Get back here!"

The volume of their angered voices combined alone was enough to make me freeze in my step. I turned around and slowly walked back in defeat, but Fenghuang continued, obviously not caring much about me. I sighed because I actually thought that she would stay and help, but now she finally left.

As soon as I came back, Baozhai and Tigress grabbed each of my wrists. Then (Again) they spoke in unison: "This way." after which they started to drag me in the opposite directions. Baozhai wanted to drag me towards the house, while Tigress obviously wanted to drag me over to one of the tents (Probably to beat me up or yell at me, who knows?)

"I said _this_ way!" the two tigresses yelled at each other in unison. Still in unison they continued: "Why are you so stubborn?"

I just stood there between them as they began to argue again. They both still had a hold of my arms – one each – and every time they said something, they pulled forcefully at my arm. I was actually starting to fear that one of them would yank one of my arms off, due to their strength.

Finally Tigress seemed to give in and we all walked up to the house again. I remember how Mei Ling looked at me with a shocked face. I tried to smile a little at her, but she didn't smile back, so I just stopped it.

* * *

><p>Soon we all sat in a little living room. The little dog had a relatively big house when you think about how small she is. Speaking of her, it turned out that she was named Biyu and was the former trainer of Mei Ling and her friends after she graduated from the Kung Fu Academy. She was also an old friend of Shifu and most other Masters in the camp.<p>

Though they weren't with us, the stag beetle and the grasshopper were named Qi and Ye. They turned out to come from Mantis hometown, and they all three appeared to be good friends.

"Lynx, before we explain something to you, isn't there something you want to tell us?" Shifu asked me in his low calm voice, which just made me even more nervous.

"I guess so… where do I start…?" I thought for a second about how to say it, and then cleared my throat. "Well, it all started a long time ago. My dad is a pirate captain, so I was raised to be the same. I did for the most part a good job…" Baozhai coughed a little at this. "But then one night he started terrorizing a village in the mountains – just to get supplies in what he called a more 'fun' way."

"But what's that got to do with you?" Po asked. Suddenly I remembered that it had been a panda village, and he had a great resemblance to their leader. Maybe they were father and son!

"I'll get to it…" I replied. I would ask him about his family later, but now the story itself was more important. "So anyways, my dad wanted me to kill the villagers' children… And I couldn't do it…"

"I let them go, but dad found out and…" I stopped myself to sigh. "The reason why I came to the Valley of Peace was because of the punishment the crew gave me. I have to find the greatest treasure in the world."

There was silent a long time after I finished that last sentence. No one said anything and just sat there for a while, trying to understand what I had just told them. I wanted someone to say something, but no one did.

"The greatest treasure in the world…?" Ai said and broke the silence. "So that's what you're after?"

I nodded. It was a really weird subject to talk about, but unfortunately Tigress took it in another direction with only a few sentences: "You said it was something you looked for, for your dad… you lied to us?"

"Yeah… pretty much everything I told you, besides my name, was lie," I said a little carelessly. The Five, Po and Shifu didn't seem too happy about hearing the truth, but at least they now knew a little about the actual truth.

"But back to the treasure," Baozhai said. "Did your dad mean like gold or something? I know many pirates think that gold is the greatest treasure in the world…"

"That's what I've tried to figure out," I told her. "I don't even know if the treasure exists at all and if I don't find it…" I grimaced. "Urgh… let's not talk about my death yet."

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" I said and brought the subject to something else.

"What happened out there in the battle," Baozhai said. "How you suddenly knew Kung Fu."

Biyu cleared her throat and stretched her tiny, old arms. "It seems that you're the warrior to appear to start the third millennium; a warrior to stand up to whatever threat that threatens the art of Kung Fu."

"But Po is the Dragon Warrior," Shifu said, obviously wanting Po to be this special warrior. "And he's the three-thousandth registered Master of a new style…"

"Sometimes numbers are unnecessary Shifu," Biyu said, sounding ever-smart. Shifu just sighed and let her continue.

"Wait a second," I said and kept her from continuing. "You mean millennium like in years, right?"

"No," Crane told me. He stood between Mei Ling and Baozhai and the two cats surrounding him looked kind of funny to me. "They mean three Millenniums like the number of Kung Fu Styles invented."

"So, there really are three-thousand Kung Fu Styles this far?" I asked, at which they all nodded. I sighed to myself. "But why did it have to be me? I'm a pirate for crying out loud!"

At this everyone fell silent and looked over at Biyu, expecting her to come up with some wise answer, but then she said: "I don't know."

Everyone in the room starting complaining about, the fact that she didn't know the answer to my question. I just sat there and watched as they all complained until Biyu herself broke the silence with one snap with her tiny fingers. The sound was incredibly loud and could probably be heard outside the house. Everyone shut up at this and waited for Biyu to speak.

"Yes, I don't know why fate chose Hai," she said and looked around at everyone in the room. "But I do know that he is the one."

"But how do you know that?" I asked. It didn't appear logical to me, but obviously some of the others understood – at least Baozhai.

"Don't you get it?" she asked me. Her blue eyes had a gleam that signaled that she knew all about it and almost expected me to do the same. "When we fought earlier…"

"… I knew Kung Fu, I know" I finished the sentence. Now I was sure of it and it finally made sense! Well, kind of. I still didn't understand how I had been able to use Kung Fu techniques. But I had the feeling that Biyu would tell me sooner or later. "But how?"

"It was the spirit of Kung Fu," Biyu replied. It was a little different from what I expected… actually a lot. "It lies within everyone who has a pure heart."

"But I'm a pirate," I said, while everyone else said the same, though they switched the 'I' out with 'he'. I understood their confusion; a pirate was a person who robbed others and their ships. How the heck could such a person have a pure heart?

"Think about it Hai," Biyu told me. "Haven't you ever done something good?"

I thought for a second. There was that one time with the villagers in the village where the Storm Clan lived, and then the panda children, which I had just told them about. But how was that to do something good? I just kept myself from doing something bad, and so what?

"Yes, I have," I said. "I saved some villagers and spared some children. But the last thing is what got me here."

Biyu was about to say something else, but suddenly the door was kicked in. a bunch of wolverines made their way inside and everyone immediately got to their feet. Baozhai and her friends immediately took them on and told us to get out. We took the nearest window and one after one we jumped out.

We rushed to the other side of the house and saw an army of wolverines come from the forest. The camping Masters made a counter attack, but they didn't seem to be able to keep the wolverines away. The others immediately rushed into battle and I just wished that I still had my sword. As if he had read my thoughts, Shifu suddenly put a hand behind his back and when it reappeared, he had my sword!

"Thanks," I said as I took the sword in my hand. It was the same wooden sword with the same blade, same handle, same everything! "You need to teach me how to do that someday."

I was about to join the fight when Shifu suddenly stopped me. "Hai, if you just have a second, I have a gift for you; for telling the truth."

I quickly looked at the battle. It was hard to just stand here while everyone else fought, but I kept my ground. I then looked at Shifu as he reached under his robes, and when his hand reappeared he held a little, green gemstone of some sort. I frowned in confusion, but the red panda simply picked up a little fallen-off branch from the ground. Shifu then found a piece of rope from under his robes and attached the stone to the branch. When it was tied tightly enough, the branch suddenly changed. It became a sword that was completely identical to mine!

"Wow… thanks," I told him and took the new sword in my hand. "But how…?"

"Shift Jade," Shifu explained. "But enough about that; go ahead and fight Lynx!"

I smiled a little at Shifu and then rushed into the battle. With two swords now, it was like the time before I got punished, except the two metallic blades were replaced by wood. But none the less, it seemed to be effective against wolverines. I charged the first three wolverines that came into view. They seemed to know who I was and attacked me.

As suspected, they were better than the ones we had fought in the Valley of Peace. I blocked a wooden club with one sword and hit the wolverine in the head with my other sword. Soon I charged another wolverine and slashed him with both swords going from left to right. I hit him in the head and he was knocked to the ground. He was quickly back on his feet and soon I had to face all three at the same time.

I swung my swords to block their clubs. I soon realized that this wouldn't be an easy battle and that it could easily be determined if they were to fight against me. Suddenly I remembered the Shift Jade. _If it can make a branch become a sword…?_ I concentrated on my left sword and soon it was a branch again. I jumped backwards and detached the gem from the branch and reattached it to my real sword. I concentrated again and soon I held a Ninja Katana in my left hand. I had seen the Storm Clan use Katanas and this looked exactly like theirs. The blade was smooth and metallic and way thinner than my old swords. I charged forwards and attacked the surprised wolverines. I slashed my new Katana against their wooden clubs and even cut one in half. I then turned around to slash again, this time hitting their metallic chest armor. I had expected the impact to leave a long mark or at least make sparks, but nothing happened. The sound also sounded wrong; it wasn't metal against metal, but more like metal against… wood?

"Wait a second," I muttered. I took my hand and ran it along the sharp edge of the Katana. Nothing happened to my finger and it also felt just like my usual sword. I also realized that I had only cut the wolverine's club in half because of the force I had put into the slash. "Aw, seriously?"

My distraction had cost me a few seconds of the battle and soon I was kicked in the chest. I fell backwards into the snow, but the pain wasn't so bad that I couldn't ignore it. I was quickly standing up again and tried to use the Shift Jade again. Soon a big, dragon-resembling canon landed beside me. It was clear that the Shift Jade didn't just make an illusion, but actually changed the target.

I went to the back of the canon. I knew I couldn't actually fire it, but I had other things in mind. I put my hands on the canon, gave it a powerful yank and as loud as I possibly could, I said: "KA-BOOM!"

As hoped, the wolverines all flinched at this as they thought that I had actually fired, and I just about died from laughter. But as soon as they realized that they were alive, they went after me again. I stopped laughing and ducked as a club was swung towards me and then pushed the canon, so that it would hit one of the other wolverines. It hit successfully and he was run over by it. After the canon passed him, he was pressed at least a half foot into the deep snow. I rushed over to the canon and changed it back into its original form.

I suddenly stood back to back with someone. When I looked backwards, I saw that it was Qiu, Mei Ling's leopard friend. I got eye contact with him and we started fighting the wolverines standing back to back. I hit the wolverines with my sword as Qiu used his fist to hit the ones on his side and together we formed a pretty good team.

"I need to get away from here," Qiu said as he knocked down a wolverine. "My city needs me."

I changed my sword into a whip, and soon I was whipping wolverines. Never done it? Try it! "Your city? Isn't that a very… cocky way of saying your home?"

"No, I mean Shan City," Qiu said and kicked a wolverine to the ground before we split up and fought a group of wolverines each. These guys were unstoppable, not because they were that hard to beat down, but because they kept coming. I then remembered that Shan City was where that Zhu idiot was. Maybe he knew this Zhu – maybe they were allies! But the next thing Qiu said made that theory fall to the ground: "I'm the true emperor."

If he was really the one who was supposed to be the emperor, what was he doing here? Shouldn't he be out and doing some… I don't know; emperor-like things? Or maybe this Zhu had chased him off because he wanted to be the emperor himself. Well, duh, of course he had!

"So that's why the wolverines are here?" I asked. It sounded logical enough since they were probably sent out to kill Qiu and probably had tracked him to where we were now.

"Yeah, I guess that's my fault," he sighed and did a spin kick on a few wolverines. He seemed to be good at whatever Kung Fu Style he practiced, and I'd rather have him as the emperor of all of China than I'd have Zhu being it. "These guys are good trackers, just saying."

I changed my whip back to its original sword form, looked at the Shift Jade and immediately got an idea; what if I made myself look like Qiu? I could get to Shan City and hit Zhu where he lived! Then this weird massacre would be over and I could steal some of Zhu or Qiu's stuff and tell my dad that it was the greatest treasure in the world! _Perfect!_

I kicked a wolverine out of the way, grabbed Qiu's arm and dragged him over behind Biyu's house. I then took off the Shift Jade and put it under my vest.

"What are you doing?" Qiu asked me. Obviously he didn't know about these Shift Jade-gems. Maybe they were even a rarity… maybe another good substitute for the real greatest treasure in the world? "And what is that?"

"Shift Jade," I told him. I then took a good look at Qui and then concentrated hard. Shifting myself was harder than it was to make my sword shift. It took quite some concentration, but at last I could feel as my body took another form. I grew a few heads taller and more muscular. When I looked down at myself again, I was Qiu! I then drew my sword from its sheath, which had become a metallic one that had a silver-blade and a strong wooden handle with silver and golden, vine-like motifs curling up and down the handle – fitting the emperor-theme perfectly!

"Wow, where'd you get that stone?" Qiu asked me, obviously very impressed at the Shift Jade's ability.

"I got it from Shifu," I told him with a little smile. My voice even sounded just like his. "Now stay here. I'll lure them away."

And with those final words I dashed into the forest, but I was followed and attacked by one of the wolverines. I unfortunately didn't know any Kung Fu, since I had only adapted Qiu's body – not his mind. But I still knew how to fight. I stopped and jumped forwards and landed a solid kick at the wolverine's chest armor and knocked him backwards.

The wolverine stumbled a little backwards, almost losing balance. When he regained his balance, he looked up at me and said: "Qiu Mao… stupid mistake of you to fight us."

"So, why is that?" I asked and held up my sword in a defense stance. If I was in the body of a prince, why not try to act like one? "If I'm to be the emperor, why not fight for what is rightfully mine?"

The words sounded so good and justice-filled that I was actually afraid that I might literally turn into Qiu for real. Nah, I'd just have to get to Shan City and then I could Shift back to Hai Zei again.

"Rightfully yours?" the wolverine asked as his wooden club clashed against my sword. I grabbed the handle with both hands and put all my force into it and pushed the wolverine backwards before kicking him in the stomach area. He then said: "Your family line might be signed up for the post, but Zhu's army is superior to your father's forces."

"My father?" I asked, but then suddenly remembered that he was referring to Qiu's father and not mine. As soon as I came to realize that, I also realized that it would be a good idea to play along and pretend to actually be Qiu. I then held up my sword with the sharp blade pointing towards the wolverine. "What has Zhu done to him?"

The wolverine snickered at my question. "Don't worry you'll see him again soon… on the other side."

Wait, did this mean that Zhu had killed Qiu's dad? I didn't know if Qiu had heard this, but if he had, he probably would have had a freak out or something. Maybe he'd even come out of his hide and ruin the whole plan… who knew. But he didn't.

I was about to charge forwards, but suddenly someone grabbed my arms and kept me from attacking the wolverine. I looked back to see two other wolverines. They had a hold of my arms and soon they started dragging me backwards. I did my best to get free, but they were simply too strong for me – all of Qiu's muscles simply seeming to be there, instead of actually _being_ there.

Soon as I realized that it was useless, but before I could even react, the first wolverine hit me in the face with a hard punch and I would have fallen backwards if it wasn't for the two other wolverines. Suddenly I somehow managed to get my right hand out of the one wolverine's grip and hit him in the face with my elbow. It knocked him out since I had obviously hit the right knock out-place. Soon I tried to get my other arm free, but the other wolverine's grip was even tighter. I actually only managed to escape because I pretended to try and decapitate him with my sword.

I stumbled a little backwards, found the Shift Jade and quickly reattached it to my sword. I then changed the sword into a pebble and then stored it under my robes. The wolverines hadn't seen the sword change into the pebble, but were surprised when I put my hands into the air in surrender. I could see them all look like question marks, but eventually they grabbed my arms again, this time tying them on my back with a strong rope.

"Smart move," the wolverine from before told me with a growl. I looked past the trees and saw Mei Ling and a few other Masters look at me as I was taken hostile. They were about to rush in and help me, but were cut off by another squad of wolverines. Suddenly another twenty or so wolverines appeared and soon something hit me in the head and knocked me out.

* * *

><p>So, there it is guys! Now for the special announcement: This story will have a sequel! It'll be a series of one-shots, similar to LoA, though it'll be more Sentai-like and have focus on other characters than a certain Panda... . and it'll also be from different POVs, of course starting with Hai's... and because this is chapter thirteen of KFPNM, here's a preview! The preview is from Epic 1: Facing the Nightmare and this is from Viper's nighmare:<p>

* * *

><p><em> She wakes up. She stretches her long, green body and then makes her way to her barrack's door. She senses a strange wind blow by… an unnatural wind, like one that was made by a fan. It's a very cold wind and her reptilian body immediately starts to feel tingly; if she could, she would have gotten Goosebumps all over her body. She shivers a few times before leaving her barrack, just to shake it off.<em>

_ She opens the door, but the sight that meets her is one that immediately sends a shock into her mind and even more shivers through her body. The barracks seem to be ruined and they look like there hadn't lived anyone for several years. The floor is covered by a thick layer of dust and the paper on the doors and walls are flaking off several places. The wood on the ceiling is cracked in several places and the wood itself seems to be rotten._

_ She looks around with a shocked expression on her face. She then starts at the first barrack: Tigress' barrack._

_ "Tigress, are you there?" she carefully asks as she opens the door. The barrack is deserted safe for all of Tigress' belongings. Her bed is made up, but is covered in a thick layer of dust, just like the floor. She just grows more scared and hurries out to check the other students' barracks. But no one is really there._

_ She hurries out to the Jade Palace, and is met by a dark grey sky with thick clouds everywhere. A strong wind is blowing, but it's luckily not raining. A sudden clap of thunder in the distance makes her flinch on her way, but the thing that shocks he the most is the Jade Palace._

_ The once so majestic palace is nothing but a ruin. The blue roof with the golden dragons has fallen apart and not even half of the roof is left intact. The wooden walls are rotten and in some places the walls are even missing and some places even seem to have been burnt away. She sticks out her tongue and a thick smell of rotten wood fills her reptilian smell sensors on her tongue. She immediately pulls back her tongue to get away from the smell. She hurries into the palace to see if at least the others are there._

_ The Hall of Warriors is not what it used to be. Most of the artifacts and weapons are gone, stolen, and those that are still there are old, dust-covered and almost not recognizable. The pool at the end of the hall does seem to be the same as it once was and she hurries up to it._

_ But the water has a brownish green color and smells rotten too. It seems like it hasn't been cleaned for years – just like the rest of the palace hasn't been renovated._

_ Now she is almost scared out of her skin – or at least the skin she's wearing at the moment. Did this mean that everyone was dead? And if they were, then why? And why weren't there anyone to take care of the palace? She could almost cry right there, but as strong woman she is, she holds in her tears._

_ "Maybe… maybe there are still some people in the village," she tells herself to cheer herself a little up. The mountain village below the palace's long staircases always used to be so full of life and… no, no one would want to abandon that village – it was one of the best places to live!_

_ But when she arrives at the village, she's in for a shock: the village isn't much prettier than the temple. The houses are all fallen apart and some – most of them – even seem to have been burnt down. She recognizes every single building, and right over there is Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop._

_ The once so popular restaurant is empty. Most of the tables and chairs are turned over and covered in dust. The counter has somehow been burnt down and not much other than ash and burnt wood is left. She walks into the kitchen, see's that most of the things there are what they used to; the lantern Po decorated as a child is still there, most of Mr. Ping's silverware is still there, and some of the knives are even half stuck into the kitchen desk. There's a bowl with noodles on the desk, but the meal is very rotten and smells horrible. It's got a green, disgusting color and she turns around and goes out into the center of the restaurant to look at the ruins once again._

_ "What's happened here?" she asks herself in a low gasp. Her entire world is in ruin; not just the village, but she can feel how this has happened to the entire valley. Suddenly a chill runs down her spine as she realizes what has happened and what is currently happening and suddenly a voice in her head says: "Isn't it obvious? You're alone."_


	14. Welcome to Shan City!

_No emperor has the power to dictate the heart._

**Friedrich Schiller**

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I found myself in some kind of cell. It looked unmistakably like the one in Chorh-Gom, except this one at least had a window, which was also covered by metallic bars. The sunlight shone inside, though it didn't light up the cell very much. I walked over to the bars of the cell and looked from the one end of the prison hallway to the other. I looked around and saw that I was alone this time. I could see several other cells of which most of them were empty. There didn't seem to be any guards on duty unlike in Chorh-Gom, so they really must have had faith in the security of this prison.<p>

The cell that was parallel to mine also had a prisoner – actually it seemed to be the only other prisoner here. She was a snow leopard and for a second I actually thought that it was Fang. She had grayish fur with black spots and also some white on her muzzle and underside. Her outfit was a blue Kung Fu dress with a motif that resembled vines with black roses. Actually she nearly had an hourglass form and some pretty… curves…?

I then noticed that the cell wasn't the only thing that held her captured; her arms were sealed by strong metallic chains that expanded from each arm to the nearest wall, so that she wasn't able to move her arms. Onto that her legs were also bound by strong chains and I would be surprised if her blood could even reach the bound parts of her body and seemingly she was sleeping.

"Are you soon done staring?" she suddenly asked, taking me by surprise. She hadn't even opened her eyes, yet she knew I was looking at her.

"Uh… sorry," I told her and tried to look away. I then tried to change the awkward first words over on something else. "Who're you?"

"Names don't matter," she replied, her eyes still closed. "But you can call me Jissai."

"I'm Hai Zei."

"Hai Zei?" At the sound of my name, she opened her eyes and for the first time looked at me. "You're the one who destroyed Chorh-Gom's gates?"

"Yeah… I did," I told her proudly, though I tried not to sound proud.

"You sure look a lot like the prince."

I then remembered that I wasn't really Hai Zei. "Well, this isn't my actual form, you know."

At the word 'form' she frowned as if she thought I was some kind of shape shifting demon or whatever. I quickly found the pebble from my pocket, quickly changed it back to its sword form, detached the Shift Jade and then turned myself back into my good, old self.

"Oh, you're that wanted pirate," she said, seemingly more interested in my presence now. Why did everyone refer to me as 'That Wanted Pirate?' It didn't even sound like a good nickname or anything… just imagine jumping into battle with strangers and say: "Who am I? I'm That Wanted Pirate!"

"And you're that tied up Snow Leopard," I joked at her chains, trying to lighten up the situation. And Jissai's reaction was pretty close to what I had hoped for; it made her chuckle.

"No, I'm not Tai Lung," she chuckled at my remark. I didn't actually know who this Tai Lung was, but he was probably some kind of bad guy too, since he could be preferred to as 'That Tied up Snow Leopard'.

"Why are you in here?" I asked her and changed the subject.

"I guess it's illegal to love someone who everyone calls a bad guy," she said in a rather angry voice. The anger wasn't pointed towards me, but probably towards someone else – those who thought the way she had explained that some people did. "Oh, and it's also bad to protest against having an idiot take over the emperor post."

"Yeah, I know," I said, fully agreeing with her about the idiot-as-an-emperor-thing. "Zhu is such a dummy."

She chuckled a little at my comment about Zhu and then I remembered the first thing she had said. Obviously this guy she loved was a criminal of some sort, and he might even have been in Chorh-Gom, so I might have freed him. "Who is this person you love?"

"Doesn't concern you," she growled, rapidly changing mood. She obviously took a more 'defensive' mode because she might have feared that I'd react like everyone else. Then there was a few seconds where none of us said anything. I then asked her if she would like me to get her out, but she told me that her so-called lover would come to take her away soon.

"But feel free to try and get out yourself," she said (Almost quoting Fenghuang), surveying me as if she wanted to see how a pirate would get out of a prison cell… she was actually almost studying me and it was kind of creepy actually.

I turned to the Shift Jade once more and reattached it to my sword. I don't know what I was thinking, but I then placed my sword's wooden blade between two of the bars. I was planning to make it become the canon again and that way break the bars. Unfortunately tight spaces hinder the Shift Jade's effect somehow. You see, the sword did become the canon… just on a much smaller scale; it was the size of a little, cheap souvenir version or something.

"Are you kidding me?" I muttered frustrated and withdrew the mini canon. As soon as it did, the effect came into play and before I knew it, I had a canon on top of me. I just barely survived the massive weight, though it was only because it still touched me and because the Shift Jade was somehow triggered by thoughts through touch or… something. As soon as my sword was all that was lying on top of me, I got to my feet and brushed off all the dust from the floor.

"That worked well," I heard her remark with a slight chuckle. I tried to think of something else. Maybe if I tried to… no, like I was going to try and pick a lock again! Then it hit me! What if I…? No, asking Jissai for help would make no difference, since she was all tied up…

"Maybe we should just wait for your boyfriend to show up," I said, feeling an urge to give up and just go to sleep and wait. Just as I said so, I heard some noise from the end of the corridor in which the prison cells were located. I looked up and suddenly a wolverine was blasted through the wooden door at the end. I heard a battle roar. It definitely sounded like it came from a feline of some sort, though I was unsure of whoever it was. Maybe it was Tigress; or Baozhai; or Qiu; or maybe even Shunfeng!

Suddenly a lion came through the door. He literally flew through the opened door as he pushed a wolverine along with a powerful kick… however he did, I would love to learn that technique! Soon he was joined by a young lioness and the two managed to knock out all the guards pretty quickly. I didn't know the two, but apparently they knew who I was.

"Hi Hai," the lion spoke up. He didn't seem to be that old, maybe around fifteen. His mane hadn't developed fully yet and was nothing but a bushy fur tuft on top of his head and also on the sides of his face. He wore a black outfit… actually similar to what I had seen Mei Ling and Qiu wear. "We're here…"

"… to get you out," the lioness completed the sentence. Maybe they were twins… at least they showed off the twin stereotype about finishing each other's' sentences.

Next thing I knew, the lion had opened the cell door by simply punching the lock. Okay… fifteen of age or not, I didn't want to mess with him! Soon we had also freed Jissai, and when we were about to leave, she insisted on waiting for her boyfriend… such loyalty!

The tree of us dashed towards the exit, making our way past the knocked out wolverines, but suddenly stood face to face with a cloaked figure.

He wore, as mentioned, a black cloak, but I was able to see his strong and muscular arms, his long tail and big feet. Other than the cloak he wore a pair of blue pants, almost the same type of blue as my vest, just a little more navy or grayish. His fur was gray with black spots, so I immediately figured out that he was a snow leopard.

The lion twins took on a defense stance, while I just said: "Eh… your girlfriend is in there…"

"Thanks," the cloaked figure said in his deep voice. He then made his way past us and slowly walked down the corridor. His legs weren't visible from behind and he looked somewhat like a ghost or a spirit.

"So who are you two?" I asked as we escaped the prison. The area we came into was something that looked like a town square, though there was no one around… well, except for wolverines. Soon we were attacked and went into a fight.

"Wangzi Mao," the lion introduced himself as he did a fancy midair kick on a wolverine. I used my sword like it was supposed to when fighting wolverines; as a skull basher. These wolverines wore some different armor, which seemed to be of much higher quality than the ones who captured me, and they were a little better at fighting too.

"Gongzhu Mao," the lioness said as she fought. She seemed to use the same style as her brother and their surname, I noticed, was the same as Qiu's. Seemingly they were related.

I blocked a wooden club with my sword and then kicked the wolverine in the chest, sending him a little backwards. I knew this wouldn't last long, so we decided to make a run for it… like real cowards do.

* * *

><p>"Okay, come right this way," Gongzhu told me as she and her twin led me through the back alleys of Shan City. Yes, Shan City – finally I was here! The twins led me to an old storage warehouse of some sort near the harbor. From the outside, it seemed to have been standing empty for a long time. Inside it completely matched the outside and it was filled with wooden boxes. But it still seemed to be taken care of, since there were various personal items here and there. Some of the boxes were even standing so that they formed an empty space between one another. On the bottom there were some soft fabric and pillows, so obviously those holes served as beds.<p>

"Do you guys live here?" I asked and looked around. It actually looked really nice despite being as… what do you call it, low class? Yeah, I guess you could say that. It looked like one of those hideouts that I hear landlubbers tend to make as children, though it's not anything I've ever done.

"Yeah," Wangzi replied as we entered. He then closed the door behind him and I chose a box to sit on.

"So, why exactly did you get me out?" I asked. They seemed to be the 'good' guys, so why would they bother freeing a pirate?

"Well, we know that you're that wanted pirate," Gongzhu said, making me sigh at the way she referred to me. "But we also know that you're the Millennium Warrior."

"Millennium Warrior... so that's what they call me?" I asked, trying to decide whether I liked the name or not. It did sound a lot better than That Wanted Pirate, so it was okay to me.

Wangzi nodded. "We received a letter from Qiu, who by the way told us to thank you. Anyways, he also told us to get you out, so that we could stop Zhu from ruling China… though he's not very good at it."

"Hah, I thought so," I said and laughed a little. If he could see that everyone thought that he was an idiot, why didn't he just… go away? Or was he really that stupid…? Yeah, most likely. "So when do we start?"

"Well, Master Biyu, our old Master, also sent us a letter along with Qiu's," Wangzi continued. Wait, Biyu was their old Master? Did this mean that they were part of Mei Ling and Qiu's team? Well, think about it: the four of them were all felines and they wore the same outfits.

"In the letter she says that absolutely _all_ allies must be gathered before we can even start," his twin continued.

"Allies… all the Kung Fu Masters?" I asked. If that was so, we could wait forever before they got here! "You know what? I don't have time for this, I'm leaving."

"What? Wait!" But I kept going, even against the twins' protests. I walked over to the door and opened it, but nearly stepped on Shifu when I did so. I looked up and saw that Po and the Furious Five stood behind him.

"Going somewhere?" Shifu asked me, looking up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, I just came to open up," I lied. When it was obvious that they didn't believe me – mainly because the building had no windows – I said: "Okay, yes I was…"

"Wise answer," Shifu said as he and the six made their way inside. As soon as they were in, I tried to sneak out, but Tigress grabbed the collar of my vest and dragged me inside.

"Thank you, but I have legs myself," I said when I finally stood upright again.

"Yes, but if I didn't help you, they would have walked the wrong direction," Tigress pointed out, which I just sighed at.

"When did you get him out?" Shifu asked the two twins when the ten of us sat in a circle in the middle of the warehouse. They all looked like last time I left them, but I could still feel something different. Maybe it was because we might have to go into a war with Zhu, who knows.

"Just now," Gongzhu replied.

"Hmm… great timing," Shifu complimented the two. "I see that Biyu has been training you well."

"Shifu, why can't I just…"

"Because your wanted-posters hang all over the city," Shifu interrupted me. How could I forget? I had been here years ago. Okay, let's just say that when you're a pirate, whatever happens in a city stays there. Also including when you and your crew rob and entire marketplace for nearly everything there is to rob… don't ask. That was probably why everyone referred to me as That Wanted Pirate…

"Oh yeah… Eh, Shifu…? Is it too much to ask if my bounty has gone up?" I asked, feeling rather childish, but it meant something to me, since I felt like it should after the mass prison break I made. But instead of an answer, Monkey hit me in the side with an elbow. It wouldn't usually be him to shut other people up for being a little humorous, so it was probably because of the seriousness of the situation.

"So Hai, you're basically grounded until we can start fighting off Zhu's forces," Shifu told me. I wanted to complain and hold an hour-long speech on why I shouldn't be grounded, but I did nothing.

"I've received a letter from Storming Ox, who said that the Masters are gathering around the north and are on their way here," Shifu continued. He found the letter from behind his robes and handed it to the lion twins. After they had read it, they handed it back to Shifu.

"So when will they all be here," Po asked, rather excited. "I can't wait to see so many Master in act-…"

"Po, keep focus," Tigress stopped him as he obviously went into fan boy-mode. I knew Po really liked Kung Fu and how he reacted whenever we either met a Master or just talked about one.

"Soon," Shifu replied. "Most of the Masters who have been able to withstand Zhu's soldiers…"

"You mean that Zhu's soldiers have killed Kung Fu Masters?" I asked surprised. I knew that's what the guy wanted, but I expected the Masters to be able to stand against his wolverines. Maybe I underestimated the guy and his army.

"Unfortunately yes," Shifu sighs tiredly, sounding old as ever. "But as I was about to say, most of the surviving Masters have gathered in groups and are on their way here."

"How are the people of this city even feeling about their emperor?" I asked, almost expecting to hear that they hated him… or at least hoping.

"Zhu was originally from Shan City," Wangzi explained. "He became a rich man and got lots of powerful friends… powerful lords from various parts of China… that's basically how he got to push away our family."

"Your family? So you _are_ related to Qiu," I said. I then asked: "But what do these lords think about Zhu and his methods?"

Shifu sighed again. "Well, they realized that he was on the wrong side and turned away from him. Zhu stole the alliance force they had formed together as well as most of the other lords' valuables. That's how he plans on repaying his soldiers… or at least that's what he tells them."

I nodded as silence fell over the room. None of us said something for a few seconds. I couldn't help but wonder where everyone I knew were and what they were doing; The Storm Clan, Shanqu, Mei Ling, Qiu, Biyu, the Extreme Eight, Jissai, the prisoners I had freed, my dad and Fenghuang… not all of these people had been nice to me through life, but they all played an important role to me… to my fate and where I was.

* * *

><p>It was late night. Everyone was sleeping safe and sound… well except me. I carefully climbed over the wooden boxes and made my way to the door. Everything went as planned – no one had stopped me! I looked over at the sleeping figures of my friends, knowing that they probably wouldn't trust me if I left now… but I had important stuff to take care of. When I turned around again, I almost walked into Po. The two of us almost yelped in surprise, but we managed to stop ourselves by grapping our mouths with our hands.<p>

"What are you doing?" he asked me in a whisper. "You're grounded."

"So what, I'm a pirate," I whispered back, trying to defend myself in the conversation, though it wasn't a good excuse. "What's _your_ excuse?"

At this Po fell silent. We made our way outside and then I told him to follow me. If I could get his help, infiltrating Zhu's palace would be much easier. Soon we ran down the streets of Shan City as the two only living beings in the street.

"Where are we going?" Po asked.

"Zhu's palace," I told him. "Where else?"

_"What?"_

I sighed as we just kept running. I actually knew that somewhere inside, he wanted to come along and help; if he didn't, he would have turned back by now. I knew I would have to throw a lie his way: "Haven't you ever just wanted to prove yourself? Like, I want to show that I can stop Zhu and get the pirate-reputation off of me."

"Oh… like that," Po said, thinking he understood. There was nothing to understand, since it was a lie. "Then I'll help you!"

Soon we came to the town square. It was also completely deserted for life now, but I could see the palace some few hundred meters away or so. I was sure that it was guarded at night, so we would have to take the backdoor to get inside. I looked around the square and realized that the streets were filled with wolverine guards, but no civilians at all. Weird, weren't people allowed to go outside after nightfall? Zhu must have been very paranoid.

"Okay, shall we go?" I asked the panda. He nodded eagerly, but before we could go, he stopped me and told me that there was a note on my sword's sheath. Po took a hold of the note and then we went over behind a city bench, so that we hopefully wouldn't be noticed. Po handed me the note and I read it out loud.

_Hai, when you find this you're probably already on your way towards Zhu's palace – I guess I know you that well already. I'm putting my faith into thinking that you know what you're doing, though it's hard. Whatever you're doing, just do what you have to do… oh, and don't get Po or yourself killed… otherwise, I'll kill you_

_– Tigress._

"Wait, she knew I was going too?" Po wondered when I was done reading the letter to him. I just shrugged, believing that she probably knew the panda well, and me too. She had even been able to predict that I'd leave while everyone was asleep. It appeared a little weird that she wouldn't have stopped us, but maybe Po had done a similar thing before. Also, the thing about killing me was a little… scary and probably a good reason to play it safe.

"I guess we have to get back alive… unless you want me to die," I joked at which we chuckled a little before getting going.

We made our way towards the palace, and soon we stood in front of a tall wall that kept the palace separated from the rest of the world. It was at least three times taller than me and climbing over it would be hard. There was a big gate, but I knew that there would be guards waiting on the other side. Instead we followed the wall all the way around the palace. The backside of the palace probably wasn't guarded and infiltrating it from that side would be… well, easier.

"How do we get inside?" Po asked as we took a good look at the wall from side to side. The distance was actually pretty big between the sides, so that meant a big palace – which, for my sake, also meant that there should be a little coin somewhere in there. Suddenly I noticed something weird; there was no backside of the wall! The entire wall expanded and surrounded the entire city!

"That idiot has trapped the city!" I said angrily when I realized the truth. He was probably that desperate! I wouldn't be surprised if the city's people wanted to leave! And how would they trade and make business with the rest of the world and get food and money? Zhu was stupider than I thought, or just very paranoid!

Po nodded. "When we got here, we had to sneak in. They have a very strict security and no one's actually allowed to enter or leave."

"But how do they get wares from the outside?" I asked. He sounded like the dumbest person ever, this Zhu.

"The harbor isn't locked off, so they get them shipped," he explained. "That's also how we got into the city."

"But why haven't people tried to escape with a ship or something?" That sounded like the easiest way to get away from this sick city and I was sure that at least one person had tried.

"Yes, but the harbor is filled with guards, so it's nearly impossible to get to it."

I sighed at Zhu's insanity and then looked up at the wall. We knew we couldn't climb up, so we had to come up with another plan. I suddenly remembered that I still had my Shift Jade. Maybe one of us could be disguised as a wolverine and bring the other inside as a prisoner. It'd be best if Po was the one to shift shape, since I was only a pirate and he was a Kung Fu Master, and they'd most likely kill him if I brought him in there. But they'd simply throw me into a cell.

I gave the Shift Jade to Po and soon he had taken on the form of a wolverine and he went into the city to get a rope to tie me up. Soon we stood in front of the gate again. I was a little unsure of whether this was going to work or not. I mean, these wolverines didn't seem too smart, since they obeyed a guy like Zhu, but still...

Po knocked the big gate and soon a little piece of wood was moved aside and a pair of yellow eyes came into sight. The wolverine on the other side first took a look at Wolverine Po, but when he saw me, his eyes widened and the gate was immediately opened. As soon as we stepped inside a bunch of wolverine arrived.

"What are you doing?" Po asked in his new deep voice.

"Hai Zei has worked with Kung Fu Masters against our forces," another wolverine said. I recognized him from the battle in the frozen forest… luckily he didn't know that it was me he had caught, and he had probably sent guards into the city to find Qiu, even though he wasn't even within the city walls. "That double charges him and according to Zhu's wish and law, he'll have to be shut down... I thought you'd know by now."

"Shut down?" Po asked just as shocked as I was. This didn't quite go as planned... Suddenly Po smiled and said: "Zhu and his law will be shut down."

And with those final words, he punched the wolverine in the head, sending him backwards. I took advantage of the confusion and kicked one in the stomach and then took a little distance to the others. I tried to loosen up the rope by yanking my arms apart… but at that moment I learned a very important lesson: don't let Po tie your arms – he'll bind it too tight.

"Uh… Po, could you please get my arms out here?" I asked as I avoided a swinging club.

"I'm a little busy," Po said as took on his true form and punched away a wolverine and dodged a club. He then did a spin kick on several wolverines, even though he had pretty short legs. At one point he even lifted himself off the ground with his arms and that way, it was easier for him to hit the wolverines with his feet. He was pretty good at it actually... except the corny Kung Fu sounds, but whatever, that's just how he is, right?

I noticed that there was a torch at each side of the entrance to the palace. If I could get to it, I could get it to burn away the rope… but I'd also have to be careful; my clothes were mainly made of silk and if they got into the fire… I'd be naked... I'd also have to be careful with my fur...

I carefully moved my arms towards the flame, waiting for it to catch on fire. As I did, I also had to kick a few wolverines away, since you can't get your arms freed these days without interruption. When I finally got my arms free, I joined in on the fight. I drew my sword and jumped into the air. I landed on the nearest wolverine's shoulder and then jumped off again when one of his teammates tried to hit me; luckily he swung his club downwards instead of sideways, so the first wolverine was soon on the ground with a supposedly broken shoulder. I used my sword to block an attack from two other wolverines while I used my foot to kick each of them in the stomach area. I withdrew my sword and hit them both in the head, knocking them out. I then dodged as another wooden club was swung towards my head, but soon a lot more wolverines came from inside the palace.

"Po, we need to get inside now," I told my panda friend as I slashed a few other wolverines with my sword. "We can't hold them off forever."

"Don't worry, I've got it," he said with a somewhat sneaky smile. He surprised me when he suddenly grabbed one of the wolverines' hands. I looked in question as I kept some of the wolverines away. Po then took a hold of one of the wolverine's fingers in a somewhat weird way. He then told me to stand between him and the wolverine and so I did. Next thing I knew, Po flipped his pinkie and we were swallowed by an intense light.

* * *

><p>And here's the next chapter because I'm a super addict when it comes to writing... though I might take the next week 'off' from writing, since I've been on vacation and I'm going home tomorrow... so I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to school... Anyways, hope you'll like this one and if you do, you can leave a review as always! :D<p> 


	15. Getting Along, Finally!

_Failing to plan is planning to fail._

**Alan Lakein**

* * *

><p>"That thing you did back there… what was it?" I asked Po as we made our way into the palace. No, we weren't so stupid that we'd use the front door of course… we simply made sure to attract enough attention with the move Po had performed, so that everyone would rush to the front door, while we sneaked in from the backside. The move had sent a powerful, golden energy wave throughout the palace, perhaps even the entire city. The wave had appeared as an explosion where we were, so all the wolverines had been knocked out by it - I luckily hadn't taken any damage myself, and neither had Po. We had heard more guards come from the inside (The door just barely stood back after the explosion), so we hurried to the other side of the palace. Those stupid wolverines spent all their time checking the outside of the palace walls, and therefore didn't find us… though a few guarded the outsides of the palace behind the wall. We had found a window and had made our way into the palace. We were currently in some kind of library. There were countless scrolls and I had even found one and was currently about to unfold it and read its contents. I had found it on the floor behind one of the shelves the scrolls were stored. It had been a little dusty and had obviously been intended to be thrown away like another piece of trash.<p>

"The Wuxi Finger Hold," Po explained as he grabbed a scroll as well. The content – at least of the one I was reading – was nothing. It had obviously been thrown away, since I found it on the floor behind one of the shelves. It had been found in a silver-colored holster and the scroll's 'skeleton' was made of blue-painted metal. "A pretty awesome trick, huh?"

The scroll itself wasn't made of paper as you'd think. It was actually made of some reflective, silver-colored fabric or something, perhaps silk. I looked for a few seconds and wasn't really able to see anything.

"What am I doing with this?" I asked myself in a mutter. Suddenly something that looked like Chinese writing seemed to appear somehow. It was a little hard, but I just managed to read _Trying to figure out my secret._ That was kind of freaky. Not only because this weird scroll had somehow had an answer to a question written on it, but also because it could be used to answer my question.

"What's my name?" I asked lowly, just to make sure that it wasn't capable of answering. Soon the writing changed rapidly and soon I could read: _It's Hai Zei, duh!_

"Wow… that's freaky," I said when I realized what was up with this scroll. It took a few seconds before I realized that Po had said it in unison with me. I then turned to him and see what he was doing. "What's freaky?"

"This scroll just showed me the Valley of Peace," Po said, obviously shocked. I looked over at the scroll he had found. It was the exact same as mine, except the blue skeleton was red and the reflective surface was bronze-colored.

"Can I see it?" I asked after which we swapped scrolls. I looked down at the bronze-colored fabric scroll. I looked for a few seconds, but I wasn't able to see the least that looked like the Valley of Peace. I tried to turn the scroll to the left, then to the right. I still couldn't see anything special. Maybe we were starting to see things, since Po asked me what was so special about the blue scroll.

"Try and look at it now," I told him. He then looked down on the scroll. Slowly a bunch of Chinese characters appeared on the silvery surface. _I can answer every question in the world, so please show a little respect,_ was what it read.

"Niiiice," Po and I said in unison when we finally figured out the function of the scroll. Soon we asked the scroll what the red scroll was capable of. It turned out that the other scroll was capable of showing you what you wanted to see. I decided to keep these scrolls, just because they were special, and soon Po and I were checking out the other scrolls. They all had different colors and were made of metallic, reflective surfaces, so they most likely had special abilities too.

But suddenly the door to the library was opened. We hurried over behind one of the tall bookshelves. The person who entered hurried inside and then hurried over to one of the bookshelves. I looked out from behind the bookshelf and saw that the other person had bended down to pick something up. Soon he was on his knees, obviously looking for something. I soon realized that it was the blue scroll I had found earlier that he was looking for.

Whoever he was, he seemed desperate to find the scroll. I looked down at the scroll in my hand and realized just what you'd be able to do with it; if it could answer any question, you could know anything! Like I was going to let him have it back! Po and I slowly made our way past him as we watched and heard him search for the scroll around the floor. To think that all of these amazing scrolls were owned by Qiu's family kind of amazed me… come to think of it, maybe I should free his family if they were held prisoners… except his dad, who Zhu had… 'Shut down' as his guards called it.

I realized that this person probably was Zhu, and one part of me wanted to confront him right away and end it, but Po patted me softly on the shoulder and signaled that we had to get out. We carefully sneaked over to the door and made our way into the hallway unseen.

"I think that was him," I whispered as we made our way down the hallway. "Why didn't we just confront him now?"

"I've learned that taking risks can be dangerous," Po said, acting all out of character. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, showing him I didn't quite believe it. "Okay, maybe not… but I think we should just wait for everyone else to…"

Suddenly something that was on fire dashed past us from behind us. It hit the floor a few meters in front of us and exploded in a pillar of smoke and fire; fireworks. Po and I rapidly stopped and almost fell backwards due to the explosion.

We looked behind us to see a wolverine guard who wielded a long, thin canon of some sort. It wasn't as big as the one that had destroyed the Chorh-Gom gates, but a smaller one you could carry around. He fired the next rocket and it hit the wall just above my head. Po and I instinctively ducked to avoid the explosion, but the heat near us was so intense it felt like we were burning.

Suddenly Po waked into the middle of the hallway. As the next rocket approached, he struck a pose and as the rocket flew towards him, he seemed to catch it midair. Suddenly he turned around, dragging the rocket along, as if he was somehow playing with it. For some reason he was able to balance it without making it explode. Suddenly he turned it towards the wolverine again and before he knew it, the rocket was hurled towards himself.

"How'd you do that?" I asked as the explosion dimmed down and we continued running. It seemed that Po was a lot more skilled than I had thought and that he knew a lot of impressive moves and tricks other than the Wuxi Finger Hold.

"Inner Peace," he relied with a somewhat proud chuckle as we continued down the hall. I looked behind me to see the person from the library exit the library and yell something after us. I couldn't quite get a good look at him, since I also had to watch where I was running. Suddenly Po turned around a corner and I just followed him.

We came into a room that seemed to be a dining room of some sort. There was a long table at the end of the room and there were chairs on both of the long sides of the table, but only at one of the smaller ends. Obviously this was where Zhu would sit and eat, even though I didn't understand whoever would want to eat dinner with him, so why all those other chairs?

"Was this what you were looking for?" I asked as we entered the room. But before he could answer me, the door was kicked in. Suddenly a squad of wolverines entered and charged us. These weren't all armed with canons, but a few of them were.

"No, but we just need to find the prison," Po said, which made me understand… somewhat. If we just entered random room till we found the palace's prison, but unfortunately we had obviously picked the wrong door. I knew that Po wanted to free some potential prisoners, maybe Kung Fu Masters, but I knew that if Zhu got a hold of any, he'd get them Shut Down. Also, I knew that there was no one in the prison. Though it appeared kind of weird why Jissai was alive when I met her... even though I didn't know for sure if she was a Kung Fu Master.

Suddenly something hit me; a rope. Before I knew it, two metallic orbs swirled around me and ensnared me with the tight rope. I fell to the ground, but I managed to hold onto my sword and the blue scroll. I knew it wouldn't be able to cut myself free with my wooden sword, but just in case, it'd be best to have a weapon. Besides, the scroll was probably worth a lot, so I held onto that too. I looked over at Po, but unfortunately he was caught by the same kind of trap.

"So… I guess this is part of the plan… right?" I asked, sounding a little insecure for once. The main reason I asked was to reassure myself a little; I didn't want to die like this; I wanted to die… in a more dramatic and epic way at least – not die by being killed by some idiot.

Suddenly someone else entered the room. We both turned our heads towards the door. The one who entered was a fox of some sort. He had white fur with a yellowish shade and he had clear, yellow eyes. His robes were very formal and emperor-like; completely golden. He stood almost at the same height as the wolverines, and was therefore a little taller than me. I don't know why… but I knew who he was: Zhu.

"Ah… Hai Zei," he said when he saw me. "So you finally decided to turn yourself in… you and your friends have caused us quite some problems over the past few days."

But before Zhu could continue, a sudden wind blew past us. Next thing I knew, I was free… and so was Po! I didn't know what had happened, but we quickly got to our feet. I pointed my sword towards Zhu, which just made him laugh.

"Hah, like that stick will make any difference," he said. "You're just a wanted pirate and a big, fat panda… what are you two going to do?"

"No…" Po said with a voice that just radiated epic-ness. "We're _The_ Big, Fat Panda and…"

Po waited for me to finish the sentense, but I didn't. "No, I'm not going to say it… I'm not."

I knew I was kind of ruining the moment, but I didn't want to address myself as _The_ Wanted Pirate – it would sound too lame! Instead, I knocked my sword against the face of one of the wolverines. He fell to the ground and soon they all attacked Po and me.

One of the wolverines charged me with his club above his head. He was about to hit me, and I was about to dodge, when suddenly the club stopped midair and moved backwards with a strong yanking motion, as if an invisible rope had been tied around it.

"No, they might not be able to do that much on their own," Mantis said when he landed on the floor in front of me. "But with our combined powers, _we_ can do a lot!"

Suddenly the door was opened by a powerful gust of wind and Crane suddenly flew inside. He was followed shortly by Viper and Tigress, and suddenly Monkey came down from the ceiling. The seven of us formed a circle and took on our usual battle poses. There was a few seconds where nothing happened.

"Who do you think you are?" Zhu growled when he realized that they were all Kung Fu Masters.

"I'll gladly break it to you," Mantis growled back at him. "I'm Mantis Xiao, Master of the Precise Mantis Style."

"And my name is Crane Yumao, Master of the Fluid Crane Style," Crane elaborated. I didn't know why, but this moment felt indescribably epic. It made me smile wide, and I just waited for everyone to join in on it.

"Standing before you is Viper Long, the Master of the Striking Viper Style."

"Yeah, and I'm also here to stop you!" Monkey said, though still in his usual joking tone. "I'm the Master of the Unpredictable Monkey Style – Monkey Ezuoju!"

"Po Ping, Dragon Warrior and Master of my own Dragon Style," Po proclaimed himself and took me a little by surprise, since the others were the Furious Five, and I kind of expected Tigress to have spoken up before Po. He then continued: "We're here to bring some justice up on this palace and this city! You've made a mess and we're here to clean it up!"

I then looked over at Tigress, since I kind of knew that it would be her to go next. The orange feline brought her hands together, and pressed her left fist against her right palm, making her hand make a popping-sound. "You've tried to rule a city and a country… but it ends here Zhu. I, Tigress Shifu of the Ferocious Tiger Style, will make sure that it will."

I was about to proclaim myself, but suddenly a big net of metallic chains rained down on us. The net had heavy metallic orbs attached to it, and we weren't able to lift it off of us. As we all struggled to get free, I suddenly heard Zhu laugh at us. That jerk was laughing at us! I guess it was supposed to be like an evil laughter, which it also sounded like, though it wasn't bone chilling or even intimidating to listen to - my dad is better at it, just saying.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" he asked us when he was done laughing at us. "I own this palace and this city; everything within the city walls is mine. I know about everything that happens in this city, whatever it is. Nothing can be held secret from me. I knew you were coming."

"That's why you went to get the scroll?" I asked. I still had the blue scroll in a tight grip in my hand. I knew what it could be used for, and if that idiot ever got a hold of it... he would simply know everything; or maybe it was with the help of the scroll that he knew so much. And that other scroll that Po found... and every other scroll that was owned by the Mao family would also be valuable in the procress of ruling China.

"Yes, I wanted to find out where you'd enter," the fox replied. "But it turned out that I found you myself. That's what you get for poor planning."

* * *

><p>"Okay, this didn't quite go as planned," Po said in an excusing tone. We were back in the cell, even though it had gotten a newer and better lock, since Wangzi had broken the one there was earlier. We were all placed in the same cell, and it was guarded by a ton load of wolverines, so trying to escape would be useless.<p>

Zhu had taken the scrolls and my sword away, though he had failed to find my Shift Jade. But with all the wolverines guarding us, I couldn't seem to find a proper way of escaping with the help of the Shift Jade. Whether I escaped the cell or not I, I mean _we_ would have a tough time fighting off the many guards. I looked over at the others. They all sat down and waited for something to happen – well except Po and me; we walked back and forth, trying to come up with a plan for making a prison break somehow. Just in case you're wondering, Mantis was placed inside a small cage, since he would have been able to escape through the spaces between the metallic bars that kept the rest of us prisoners.

It was starting to get pretty boring, and when Monkey asked if anyone wanted to play Guess My Thing, we all sighed, both in annoyance, but also because of the timing.

"I didn't really think this would happen," I told my six friends. "I really thought that we were able to…"

"What?" Tigress asked me, taking me a little by surprise with her harsh tone. "Defeat Zhu like that? Didn't you hear what he told us? He owns this city! Sneaking out was stupid of you… both of you!"

"Hey, what happened to _Whatever you're doing, just do what you have to do_?" I asked her. The note she had written to me had unmistakably said what I had just quoted. Why would she change her mind all of sudden?

Tigress blushed a little as if the others weren't supposed to hear that. Obviously she hadn't told them about it, and now _I_ had instead. She then changed back to her original mood. "I don't know what you're talking about, but sneaking out was…!"

"Oh, come on Tigress!" I interrupted her. "I might not be any good with Kung Fu or formal things and whatever you guys have been trained for all your lives, but don't you think I can see when people lie?"

"You call _me_ a liar? How much of the things you've told _us_ is even true?" she growled at me. It was one of the first times I had ever heard Tigress use this many words at once, so why did it have to be such an unpleasant subject? I could feel the skin under my fur get hot as I could feel how the anger sneaked up on me too. I couldn't take her right now! She was just so…! _Argh!_

"Not that much, I'll admit that," I told her with a growl. I barely noticed it, but everyone – even the guards – was all caught up in watching us argue. "But at least I don't lie about something like this; telling someone to just do what they feel is right, and then start saying that what they did was _dumb_ afterwards!"

"Maybe you should learn to control your temper!" I growled at her and ended the fight right there. She threw one shocked look at me. She actually looked kind of hurt and I immediately regretted mentioning that. I remembered that I had said a similar thing some time ago and she had nearly killed me for it. I started feeling really bad for Tigress after she went over into one of the corners and sat down, her back turned towards the rest of us.

I walked over to the sitting tigress and sat down next to her. She simply turned her head and looked at the wall, trying her best to avoid looking at me directly. I've never been too good at cheering up people, but I knew that this was the opportunity to practice.

"Eh… Tigress," I said a little hesitant. "I-… I'm sorry about the last thing I said…"

I tried my best to put emotion into the apology, but Tigress only turned her eyes to look at me briefly before looking back at the wall once again. "Why should I believe any word of what you've said? You're a pirate."

Those words actually also hurt me a little. I knew I was a pirate (Well, duh!), and I usually held onto that title with pride, but now… the word itself felt like the name of a fatal disease, and to think that I had that disease… urgh.

"Because I really mean it," I said, trying my best to sound true and honest. It was probably the first time they had heard me speak like that, since everyone – except Tigress of course – looked at me with a somewhat curious look. "I know what I said really hurt you… and I'm sorry."

I was a little surprised by now convincing I sounded – and also by how much I truly meant every word. Tigress still didn't look at me, so I guessed I had to elaborate a little. "I-… I've just never learned the difference between the times where I'm supposed to _speak_ up and when I'm supposed to _shut_ up… I have a big mouth, but that's just how I am… and sometimes I say things that… that… Tigress?"

I was caught completely off guard when suddenly the orange and black feline had caught me in a hug. It was just about the last thing I would ever expect her to do. I looked over at the others in surprise and actually with a look that asked whether this was normal or not, but it simply made them all smile, and before I knew it, I was caught in the middle of a group hug. I had never actually hugged anyone, and a group hug was something completely new to me… but I liked it nonetheless (Even though I couldn't hug them back, since Tigress held my around my arms and nearly squeezed the life out of me).

I then looked over at the cell door and saw that one of the wolverines was looking at us. He had a really sad face on and looked like he was one who could use a hug. When I did ask him if he wanted one, he agreed, and it seemed that he had a soft side, just like the little kitty that was by my side now. When he let himself in, he expected us to hug him, but I immediately nailed him to the floor with a massive kick. Now before you freak out ask yourself: What should we expect from a pirate? Yes, at that moment I was a pirate, I knew it and I was proud of it! So not the name of a fatal disease!

As soon as the guardwas knocked out I grabbed his keys, but suddenly the other guards charged us. We all went to fight back and soon the cell had become a fighting ring.

I ducked as a swinging club came towards my face, then kicked the wolverine in the chest, but soon another club nearly hit me in the face. I jumped backwards and just barely dodged it. When he was about to swing again, I ducked, jumped forwards and punched him in the face, knocking him backwards.

I realized that the others were doing great, while I had a little more struggle, since I didn't have my trusted wood sword with me. I suddenly got an idea; a sick, twisted idea straight from the sick, twisted mind of a pirate. I grabbed the little cage, in which Mantis still was, and threw it at the ground, thus breaking it.

"Thanks, H-... Hai, what are you...?" But before the little insect could finish his question, I had tied my Shift Jade to his little body and soon his protests were gone when he became a sword.

I didn't quite know whether this was a good idea, or if it would end up fatally injuring Mantis, but I just felt like we, or rather I, had to take the chance. I swung my newly gained sword against one of the wolverines' chest armor. I didn't hear the least sound from Mantis, though I thought I heard a little bit of cursing. The sword seemed to be just as solid as my old sword and I swung it against the next wolverine's head. It knocked him to the ground, and soon a few others tried to hit me as well. I knocked them out by blocking their attacks with Mantis – that sounds kind of demented, I know. I would then draw Mantis back and swing him towards their heads and knock them out like that.

As soon as all the wolverine were knocked out, I let Mantis shift back into his real form. He didn't seem to happy about me using him as a sword, and I simply apologized and said that I might have taken it a _little_ too far by swinging him with as much force as I had. Before he could kill me or anything alike, we hurried out of the cell and towards the exit. The door was still broken after what Gongzhu and Wangzi had done when they freed me, which probably was why they had had so many guards, since the door was no more.

We fled through the broken door and into the town square where I had already been twice before. It was also heavily guarded, and this time I knew we would be able to stand against them, since we were seven. This time though, I knew Mantis would be needed as a Master of the Mantis Style and not as a sword, so I let him be, while I started doing some fist fighting instead.

I jumped forwards and punched the nearest wolverine in the face, then avoided a full body tackle from another wolverine. When he didn't hit me, he simply landed flat on the ground on his stomach. As another wolverine tried to tackle me, I simply ran towards him, which took him by surprise. But before he could react, I smacked my clenched fist against his head, thus knocking him down.

We were doing fine and everything went really smooth, but suddenly a bunch of wolverines charged me from all sides, creating a living wall around me. There was nowhere to run, and I knew that if I jumped, they'd still get me. Suddenly the wolverines around me were all knocked backwards somehow. I stood there for a second and looked at the wolverines. They were all on the ground and I just stood there, having no idea about what had just happened. Suddenly I noticed a weird presence and looked backwards. There stood the Storm Clan; Feng the duck, Weifeng the deer, Shunfeng the cheetah, Fengbao the panther and Jufeng the eagle.

"Thanks," I said when I realized that they had just saved my tail. "But what are you doing here?"

"We came to the city as instructed," Jufeng said. "But Shifu was a little upset and told us to go here and help you."

I grimaced and shivered a little as I could clearly imagine how much Shifu would rage at me when I got back. He had clearly told me to stay in the hideout, but yet I had still sneaked out with Po. He had raged at me before, but I could barely imagine just how bad it would be after this.

"So, have more Masters arrived?" I asked quickly. The five ninjas nodded and told us to meet up with Shifu in the warehouse as they would take care of the guards. After that, the five ninjas charged the wolverines; not like running, but they literally raced towards them without moving their feet. It was as if they were sliding on a very smooth surface or something, and I really wish I could do that.

As we ran towards the city, I turned around to watch them fight. Watching the five ninjas fight was actually kind of entertaining. They did all of this cool ninja stuff, which I knew no one else in China would know how to do. They were amazingly fast and didn't even seem to put effort into the fighting. And onto that, they used their weird sliding-technique to tackle the wolverines.

Suddenly I saw them all extend the index- and middle fingers on their right hand (Feathers in Feng and Jufeng's case), then grab around the closed fingers with the fingers on their left hand. After that, I heard them all – except Fengbao, since he doesn't speak – say: "Ninja Geijutsu: Shoshitsu!"

After that bit of Japanese nonsense, they pointed their extended fingers at the ground and an explosion of earth, dirt and dust erupted around them. We all stopped to look and see what happened. When the dust and dirt had fallen to the ground, the Storm Clan members were gone!

"Hey, what are you waiting for?" Jufeng suddenly asked from beside me. We all jumped in surprise, which just caused the five to chuckle a little – except Fengbao, since he still didn't say a word.

* * *

><p>And there we have chapter fifteen, aren't you just happy? :D And look: I brought back the Storm Clan! If you like them the slightest, I expect at least a <em>little<em> 'yay' for bringing them back...? Oh well, as always, you can elave a review if you want - it'd be highly appreciated. Soon I'll put up a series of one-shots called _My KFP Shuffle Challenge._ If you don't know, it's where you take your music-player, in my case my laptop, and turn the shuffle mode on, and then write a drabble for the song that it lands on. It's not like a Song-Fic, but a short story or something that matches the song and the lyrics... somewhat... It'll have some major spoilers, so I don't know if I actually _should_ upload it while I'm having New Millennium unfinished, but...

Also, no one seemed to get the joke I made by inserting Jissa into the story, so she will reappear in the SC or in future chapters of this fic... and when you finally figure it out, and you're offended by it in any way, pelase don't kill me...

Nah, whatever, see you next time!


	16. The Most Hilarious Thing I've Seen!

_As long as you live, fight…! Even if you're alone._

**Gackt**

* * *

><p>"Do you two even realize how dangerous sneaking out was?" Shifu growled at Po and me. I tried to hide from his anger by standing behind Tigress and looking down at the red panda by looking over her shoulder. She was actually quite a good living shield, since she didn't really move at all, but just stood there. "What were you thinking?"<p>

The anger seemed to be geared towards Po, or maybe I only felt like that because I stood behind Tigress. I knew it was my fault and that I had to stand up to the consequences for once. "Shifu actually it was my idea…"

"Don't be so full of yourself," Shifu told me, taking me completely by surprise. "I know it was a fault of the both of you."

"Okay, that sounds more right," I said, still trying to hide behind Tigress. The Storm Clan just stood there and did nothing, and I noticed that there were around six other Masters in the room as well, other than Gongzhu and Wangzi. There was an ox, a rhino, a crocodile, a sheep, a rooster and a dog of some sort.

"Can we please save it for later?" the ox asked. He was covered in dark bluish, almost black fur. He wore a little metallic plate of some sort on the middle of his chest, which was held in place by long ropes. He also wore some armory pants and that was pretty much it. Due to being an ox, he also had a pair of horns – some pretty long ones actually. He seemed to be a team with the rhino and the crocodile, since they stood together a little away from the three other Masters.

The rhino seemed to be much younger and a little shorter and less muscular than Hundun, at least from what I remember. He wore some white Kung Fu robes with a black trim and he had a pretty short horn for rhino standards. Onto that, he wielded some kind of weird hammer.

The crocodile pretty much looked somewhat like Fung and his minions. He was different in the aspect that he had a darker tone of scales and he wore a pair of wristbands and a pair of armory pants. He also had armory shoulder-pads on, and the spikes on his long tail also seemed to be longer than Fung's and so did his legs.

"Yeah, we should like talk about what to do now," the rhino said. "We can always settle this later."

"I agree with Master Striking Rhino," the rooster said. He had brown feathers with a little hint of orange. He wore some light orange robes with a gray trim. He also had a tail of long feathers that were crimson and he had some wings that, despite his age, seemed to be pretty powerful, even for a rooster, even though they're not too good at flying – so I've heard.

"Striking Rhino?" Po asked, seemingly confused.

"Oh, yeah, that's me," the rhino said, introducing himself. We quickly introduced ourselves to him and soon Tigress asked who he was.

"As I said, I'm Striking-… oh... like that," Striking Rhino said after he realized what we meant; not _who_ he was, but who he… see, now I'm confused! Okay, let's say it like this; we knew his name, but we asked more about his identity and some backstory info, does that make okay sense?

"Well, Thundering Rhino was my uncle-… well; we weren't really related, but I knew him… personally and… yeah," the young rhino said, sounding like he was tripping over the words somehow.

"Then what's with the name?" I asked him. I found Striking Rhino after Thundering Rhino to be a fun little play of names of terms, since you see the lightning strike before you hear the clap of thunder.

"Well, my real name is Xintu-… and yeah, it's kind of fun how it means 'follower' and that I, you know… but anyways, I've been using Striking Rhino ever since Thundering Rhino's death."

It turned out that he was the son of some Master named Master Rhino (Just Rhino) and that Po and the Five knew his dad, because he had been at some feast back in the Valley of Peace.

"I think the explanations must wait for late-…" Storming Ox suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence when he looked at me as if he had barely noticed me until now. "Hey, aren't you that kid on those posters?"

Soon the other Masters came to that conclusion too, and I hurried over and hid behind Tigress again before any of them could get their strong and Kung Fu skilled hands on me.

"No, no, it's okay," Po told the other Masters and tried to calm them down. I held my hands on Tigress' shoulders and peeked out from the left side of her body. The Masters seemed to accept the fact that I was there, though they seemed to feel a bit uneasy at first. I just hoped this wouldn't end in a total disaster… and by disaster, I mean me getting killed or locked inside a cell somehow.

* * *

><p>"Good morning Hai, so you actually decided to join us?" Shifu asked when I had finally gotten out of bed. It had gotten very late last night and I was of course the last person out of bed. Seemingly the others had already eaten breakfast and when I woke up, the many Masters sat on the floor in a circle.<p>

I muttered a half-hearted "Yes, sure, whatever" and went over to sit down between Tigress and Po. The two moved a little so that there was room enough for me. Everyone looked refreshed and ready, even though Po, like me, looked like someone who had just woken up.

"So, what were you talking about?" I asked and tried my best to hide a yawn. Just so you know: I'm not a morning person.

"We were talking about how to stop Zhu," Tigress told me. Usually she wouldn't have been the one to tell me such a thing, but I guessed it was because of what happened yesterday; obviously she had opened more up to me now.

"So what did you come up with?" I asked, immediately more interested in what was happening.

"Nothing, really," Shifu said, surprising and disappointing me. I had expected them to have come up with some kind of brilliant plan, but they had nothing; _nothing!_

"Really? Then here's a thing," I started as my brain started coming up with a new plan. "Let's say I used my Shift Jade to get inside as one of the wolverines. Then I'd go find Zhu and…"

"And what?" the rooster interrupted me. "Why would you think that you would be let in, just because you _looked_ like his guards? The Mao Family owns a lot of magical scrolls… The guards could use one of revelation to see who you really are. Who knows what other types of security they have?"

"But we got in so _easy_," Po said, sounding somewhat impatient. "All we had to do was to walk right up – disguised of course – and they just let us in like that!"

"I say we just wait for everyone to gather and _storm_ the palace," Mantis said. He seemed pretty impatient too and he looked like he just wanted it all to end. Shifu then growled something about that we – they – were Kung Fu Masters and not soldiers, so that plan was quickly forgotten.

"It would be best if we could defeat his army in a battle," Viper said thoughtfully. "Then he'd realize he had lost."

The otherMasters - especially the Storm Clan - seemed to think about it and muttered a few things to one another. I just sat there, trying my best to be patient. When it was too much for me, I got to my feet.

"Well, you about the planning, me about the… well, whatever," I said, failing to make it rhyme. I walked over to the door and was about to leave when suddenly Po and the Five joined me. Though they did come up with the excuse: "We'll just make sure he won't start a fight or something…"

* * *

><p>The market place of Shan City was a miserable place… really. There was barely anything sold there and the only things that were, were of a pretty low quality. The many people there barely spoke a word to one another as if Zhu had banned speaking too, and I couldn't help but notice that there were wolverine guards nearly everywhere, and I could also see the shadows of flying vultures (Haven't seen them in a while, huh?).<p>

I had found (And by 'found' I mean 'stolen') some cloaks with hoods and we had put them on to keep our faces hidden. The seven of us walked around, trying to look like we had somewhere to go.

Suddenly we saw a restaurant. It was pretty okay looking when it came to cleanliness and size, so we decided to go there and get something to eat, even though we had no cash at all. But I could always 'find' some for us, so that we could pay for the food.

We entered the restaurant and saw that it was almost completely empty. There were around four or five tables, but only two of them were taken and there only sat three people by one of them, and two by the other. We walked right over to the desk to see what was sold here. We looked at a menu that was written on a wooden sign beside the desk, and it turned out to be a place that was mainly focusing on noodles, though there was also tofu and some other things.

"Hello, welcome to… Po!" We all jumped in surprise at the owner's sudden freak out. We looked up to see the owner behind the desk. He was a goose and he wore some brown robes and he wore a little hat with chopsticks attached to it. He had a long orange beak, grayish feathers and he also had some very bushy eyebrows.

"Shh… Dad, can't you please keep it down?" Po asked in a low voice, obviously a little embarrassed by the owner's reaction to seeing him… wait, 'Dad'? Was this goose his dad? Then what about the panda village? I was so going to show him that after this Zhu-dilemma was over!

"Of course, of course, Son," the old goose replied with a slight chuckle. "Oh my, you're getting so skinny, Po."

We all looked at Po and tried our best to see what his dad was talking about. He looked like he had done all the time I had known him, so what did the old goose mean? maybe it was the age that was disturbing his vision.

"Dad, what are you even doing here?" Po asked, seemingly slightly embarrassed by his father's presence.

"Well, Shifu told all of us to pack up and leave," the old goose explained. "He said that we had to get to safety, so I took a boat and got here. Oh, and I couldn't stop with the noodles; I just had to open a noodle shop here!"

"Oh, so that's how it is," Po said, finally understanding why his father was suddenly in Shan City. Even though it was kind of weird how he had gotten right to where the evil guy was. Oh well, maybe the old goose just didn't know.

"Would you and your friends like anything to-… oh, hello, haven't seen you before."

"Well, yeah," I answered the old goose and gave him a polite greeting, since I didn't want to embarrass Po or the others in any way. "I guess you could say that I'm the newest addition to the team."

"Oh, is that so?" the goose asked with a slight chuckle. "Then what's your name?"

"Hai," I replied.

"Nice to meet you Hai. My name is Mr. Ping."

"Nice to meet you too," I said. I think this was the first time I had ever spoken like that and I could clearly tell that the others were surprised by my politeness.

Po then asked his dad for 'the usual' and we went over to the table nearest the one wall and got seated. We sat down at the circular table so that I sat between Po and Crane and faced Tigress and Monkey.

"So what do we do?" I asked anxiously once we were seated. I desperately needed to come up with a plan, since I didn't only want my sword back and finish the whole thing quickly, but I had also realized that there was a harbor and if my dad got here… yeah, that wouldn't be good – at all. I hadn't even focused the least on the treasure over the past few days. "I need my sword."

"We could just sneak in and get it," Crane suggested. It sounded like a good enough idea; the city wasn't as guarded at day as it was at night, so we might be able to, though it would be best if only Viper, Mantis and I went, since we were the smallest members of the team, and I was experienced at being a sneaky guy.

"Okay, but we don't know where my sword is," I said with a sigh, almost giving up. Just as we were about to continue with the conversation, a bowl of soup was placed in front of us – one for each of us, of course. Well, except Tigress, since she got a plate of tofu.

I picked up the spoon and took a quick nip of the soup. It tasted… AMAZING! I hadn't really noticed or remembered, but I literally hadn't eaten for days. Soon we were all eating in complete silence and I somehow forgot all about the original conversation. I almost forgot to eat the noodles, but now and then I'd use my chopsticks to eat some of them, even though I mainly focused on the soup itself.

Suddenly after I had taken another mouthful of soup, I looked up and saw some posters at the wall behind Tigress and Monkey. What was illustrated and written on them immediately made me spit the soup out all over the table and what was in front of me (Which was Tigress and Monkey). After that I started laughing hysterically. I almost fell off my chair in laughter and I knew the other customers were probably looking over at me too, but who cared?

"Urgh... what is it?" I heard Tigress ask, sounding rather - actually _very_ - disgusted at what I had just done to her, though she didn't rage at me.

"… L-... look… the-there," I managed to say in between laughter and pointed at the wall. Now you might wonder what made me laugh, so let me tell you. The posters had unmistakable read 'WANTED – DEAD OR ALIVE'. Now, the funny part was that the names and pictures weren't of me; it was _them!_

"That's the most... hilarious thing I've seen... in all... of my life," I told them when I was done laughing hysterically and tried to regain my breath. I had almost managed to knock off my hood when I laughed, but I still had it on.

"I don't know," Crane said. "There was this one time where Monkey tried to…"

"Hey, I thought we weren't talking about that," Monkey interrupted, obviously rushing the words a little, trying to get his point out. "Besides, they spelled my surname wrong."

Suddenly Mr. Ping appeared, since he had obviously sensed the unhappy aura around our table - at least the one the others radiated. He asked: "Is something wrong? Is it the soup?"

"No, no, of _course_ not," Viper said as if she couldn't reply quickly enough. Maybe she was afraid that Mr. Ping would be somewhat insulted if he didn't get the answer to his question clear enough. "It's just… _that_."

As soon as he saw the poster, he was about to have a freak out again, but we managed to keep him from it by shaking our heads and using very big and rapid hand motions. We were about to explain when suddenly a wolverine and a vulture entered the restaurant. They were seemingly there to get a meal or something, but as soon as they saw us, they immediately got a little interested, obviously because of our big cloaks.

"Hey, who're you?" the wolverine asked and immediately got up his wooden club. I looked at the others, then at Mr. Ping. He was Po's dad, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate it if we started a fight in the middle of his restaurant. Po got eye contact with me, nodded and told his dad to step aside. Immediately I grabbed my cloak and ripped it off and threw it over my head, into the air. I mainly did it to look cool and epic, but I didn't quite expect the others to do the same… but they did.

"Hey, it's them!" the vulture said when he realized that we were outlaws. They then struck a battle pose and we did the same. Po's dad hurried over behind the desk and the customers hurried out of the restaurant. The wolverine and the vulture charged us and we made a counter attack by charging them too.

I avoided getting punched, and then kicked the vulture in the chest. Soon we parted up into two teams; Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey took on the aerial vulture while Tigress, Po and I fought the Wolverine on the ground.

As I suddenly remembered the first time we fought, I got an idea; the Double Death Strike! I quickly told Tigress about my idea and she seemed to be up for it. This time though, she grabbed me by the hand instead, so I also had a tight grip around hers. The first time she swung me towards the wolverine's head, he got hit by a foot to the left cheek. The second time, he was hit by a kick in the chest. Tigress soon let go of me after a few more swings, and I tried my best to regain balance, even though I was somewhat dizzy.

Po then went for the wolverine and punched him in the head a few times. When the wooden club was swung towards Po's face, he simply grabbed it with his strong hands. As Po held the club in place – and therefore also the wolverine's hands – Tigress and I charged Po from behind and jumped. We softly landed on his shoulders, jumped again and landed on the other side of the wolverine. Po let go of the club and the wolverine turned around to face us. But just as he did, Tigress and I hit him in the face with a double punch – one from each of us – thus knocking him backwards.

"Eh, Po?" I heard Mr. Ping ask from behind the desk. "Would you and your friends mind taking the battle elsewhere?"

At this, Po immediately grabbed the wolverine and hauled him out of the restaurant. When he landed he was knocked out and, almost instantly, a knocked out vulture landed on top of him. We told Mr. Ping thanks for the food and exited to see if they were really knocked out. They were, but suddenly a bunch of wolverine guards appeared. We didn't feel like fighting in public, since it could hurt the citizens. Sonstead we made our way through the crowd of citizens to get away.

"Sorry, pirate coming through," I said, which helped really effectively on clearing the town square. We quickly got into a civilian area where there weren't really any shops of any sorts and ran through the many streets. We could clearly hear the wolverines behind us and we needed to find a place to hide. But unfortunately we came to a dead end. That's what you get for letting me run up front.

"What do we do now?" Monkey asked when we stopped. The wolverine guards were getting closer and closer, and from the sounds of it, it sounded like they would easily outnumber us.

"I need to get to the palace... Crane?" The white and black bird looked at me with a surprised expression when he realized what I wanted him to do. It annoyed me a little, since I don't weigh _that_ much.

"But what about you guys?" he asked his friends. "You'll be easily outnumbered."

"We'll be fine," Po said, sounding very self-confident and sure of his and the others' skills. "Go bring some justice and some awesomeness up on Zhu!"

* * *

><p>Already chapter sixteen? Amazing! Lol, but seriously: I'm writing way too much. Nah... anyways, I hope you like this chapter, and before you ask: we'll get some Zhu in next chapter.<p>

Also, I told you guys that I'd make a continuation of this story once it was done. I said it would be a series of one-shots, similar to LoA, but I can't acomplish that as a whole; I need to make a sequel with chapters! So therefore, what I'm going to do is, I'll upload both a one-shot series and a sequel, which will take place between New Millennium and the real sequel.

Talking about the sequel, would you guys like any shippings/pairings? If so, please tell me, because I just like planning early, though right now might be a little too early...

Whatever, you can always leave a comment if you like it - as always - and I'll talk to you guys in the next chapter... See ya'!


	17. A Little Rematch

_A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; a bad novel tells us the truth about its author._

**Gilbert K. Chesterton**

* * *

><p>Crane and I silently soared above the city on our way towards the palace. The palace was easy to see, since it was easily the tallest building within the city walls. It was big, made of red and crimson bricks and wood and there were some golden dragon statues on the top.<p>

Suddenly a dash of black feathers nearly hit us. The vulture's attack almost made Crane drop me, but he managed to keep holding me with his strong talons – luckily for me.

"Now what?" Crane asked as he dodged another attack.

"I have an idea," I told him as we continued to fly across the city. I then told him to fly as high as he could while we continued towards the palace. He did and soon we were at least one-hundred and fifty meters above the city.

As another vulture tried to attack _me_, I simply kicked him in the face when he nearly got me. When we were very high, almost directly above the palace, I told Crane to dive down towards the palace at full speed.

"Are you crazy?" Crane asked. I understood why he would ask that. We were at least two hundred meters in the air, and if he dived towards the palace, he might not be able to stop, and would most likely kill ourselves by colliding with the palace. But I knew what I was doing – or at least what I wanted Crane to do.

When he didn't want to do as I said, I grabbed his talons and pulled myself upwards. I somehow managed to climb onto his back and grab his wings. The next thing I knew, we were falling down towards the palace at full speed. The vultures hesitated a little, but eventually started chasing us on the way down.

When I decided that we were close enough, I simply let go of Crane's wings and jumped off. I don't know whatever I was thinking, but obviously my body did. When I jumped off, I didn't exactly know what to aim for, but suddenly I saw a big red fabric flag on the side of the palace. If I could hit that, I'd either get a soft and secure landing, or I'd get mashed from the impact.

I tried my best to aim for it, but obviously gravity isn't my friend and I fell faster than anticipated. I was around ten meters from the flag. Now, don't think I fell down and hit the ground. No, fate had other plans; I simply hit a tree right outside the palace walls.

My fall was somewhat slowed down by the branches and leaves, but I almost wished that I could have just landed on the flat ground, so that I wouldn't have to get hit by twigs and branches in every possible place on my body (And I mean every possible place…).

When I finally landed on the ground, I landed flat on my stomach. I almost vomited, but was just able to keep it in. My fur and clothes were filled with leaves and branches from the tree, and it took quite a while to get it all out. When I was done with that, I looked up at the sky to see that Crane was fighting the vultures. It looked like he was outnumbered, but obviously the vultures weren't as good at fighting while airborne as Crane was.

I then tried to ignore the pain as I found my Shift Jade, even though it had been a very painful thing to fall through the branches of a tree, and especially a tree that big. When I finally found my Shift Jade, I took on the form of a wolverine guard. I felt my fur grow longer and feel my body grow taller and bulkier as I gained the form of a wolverine. My blue Kung Fu vest changed into a metallic plate of armor, and my black silk pants also changed into some armory pants that were more suited for warfare.

When the transformation was complete, I walked right up and knocked the wooden gate. It wasn't opened right away, just like last time. Instead a little panel was pushed aside and I could see the wolverine on the other side. I was about to open my mouth and speak, but suddenly the gate was opened.

I didn't expect anything else to happen, so I carelessly walked right inside. But as soon as I did, I was stopped and told to wait for a few seconds. Suddenly one of them appeared with a scroll of some sort. I immediately got a bad feeling, but I couldn't react before it happened. The wolverine opened the scroll, and instead of a normal paper scroll, it turned out to be some kind of transparent material. He turned it towards me, and immediately told his comrades to attack me.

I had no idea about what that scroll did, but I was pretty sure it was something about revelation. Suddenly two wolverines grabbed me by my arms, but before they could do anything else, I kicked the one that held my right arm, in a place that I knew was highly inappropriate to kick another man, but I was kind of desperate. Once my arm was free, I punched the other wolverine in the face a few times before he finally let go too. I then kicked the next wolverine that tried to get me, in the chest and jumped backwards as another one tried to give me a full-body tackle. I then grabbed a wooden club from one of the knocked out wolverines and bashed it against the head of another wolverine. I jumped into the air and kicked one of them in the head and then smacked the wooden club against a few others before making a run for it.

I ran over to the window that led to the library and climbed inside as fast as I could. I landed flat on my stomach on the very hard tiled floor, but at least I got away from the guards. I sighed with relief, but was in for a shock when I looked up.

Right there in front of me stood Zhu, surrounded by ten or twelve wolverines. The one wolverine by his right was the one that had fought against me back in the forest and he seemed to be somewhat surprised, but also happy – in a bad way – to see me. By 'happy in a bad way', I mean that he seemed to be happy because this meant that he could get me locked inside a prison for good… or just give me some payback for fleeing, since he had probably been to blame.

"Eh… hello…?" I said, trying to break the silence. I was still on the ground, not even daring to move, in case they might have brought some fire power.

"Just as I thought," Zhu said with a gleam of victory in his eye as he looked at me. "The criminal will always come back to the scene of the crime."

"What crime?" I asked in a rather confused tone of voice. "Oh, breaking into your palace?"

"You know darn well what I'm talking about!" he growled at me, surprising me a little. "You stole from my library! Get him!"

At this, the wolverines charged me – except the one I had fought earlier, since he was probably of a higher rank. I quickly got to my feet and ran over behind a bookshelf. I knew I wouldn't be able to do much, so I only saw one solution; I used all my might and jumped against the bookshelf. The bookshelf (did I mention that these bookshelves were at least ten meters tall?) turned over and nearly crushed the wolverines, even though they managed to dodge.

But it had been a pretty good distraction. I didn't know what to do, since I had no sword, and these guys were armed with their wooden clubs – thankfully they had no rockets or any other fireworks. I quickly figured that I had to find something to help me, and simply picked up a random scroll, much to Zhu's dismay as he started protesting like another child.

The scroll I had picked was cast in silvery metal with some green borders. The scroll itself wasn't paper, which I had figured was a common thing for these scrolls. Instead it was made of greenish, metallic fabric of some sort. I had no idea about what it did, so I tried to say various to it, just in case it was like the blue scroll I had found last time I was in the library. Oh, and all the while, I ran around the library among the bookshelves and tried to not get caught by the wolverines.

"What am I doing?" I groaned at myself in annoyance when I realized that I didn't actually need the scroll's true function. I grabbed my Shift Jade and put it inside the scroll and closed it. Soon I had my sword in my hand and turned around, since I didn't need to run anymore.

I charged the first wolverine I lifted my right arm over my head and pretended to slash downwards at him. He brought up his wooden club to block my attack, but in the last second, I jumped to the left, bowed down, brought my right arm to the left and slashed to the right. I hit him the chest area, and even though he wore metallic armor, I managed to create a pretty powerful impact with the sword. I rose to my full height again and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back so that he almost hit the nearest of his teammates. I then used my sword and knocked it upwards, hitting his hand, making his wooden club fall out of his hand and into the air. I grabbed it out of the air with my left hand, spun around and as soon as I was facing the wolverine again, he was hit in the face by his own weapon and got knocked out.

I continued onto the next wolverine and used my sword to block his club, then used a very old trick of mine that I hadn't used for quite a while; I swept his feet away with my own leg. He landed on his back and I stepped onto his chest and then jumped at the next wolverine and kicked him in the face with something that somewhat looked like a Kung Fu Technique, even though I had no idea about how to do it properly.

He fell back and one of his teammates almost collided with him. I took advantage of the distraction and jumped forwards and suddenly I felt a familiar rush run through my body; the feeling of being able to do just about anything in the world.

The rush made me able to jump so high into the air that I landed on the wolverines' shoulders. It was as if I was like Crane or someone who had a body built for balancing – which I really don't have. I then made a small jump and kicked to the sides, so that I hit them both in the head, knocking them out. I don't know why, but I somehow made a backflip before landing on the ground.

There were still a few wolverines left and I took on the first one. I threw my sword into the air. Luckily there was a long way to the ceiling, so I could get to do what my body intended to do. As soon as the sword had left my hand, I started punching him in the face rapidly. I had no real control of my body, but my mind sensed that I punched him in the face at least fifteen times per second.

As soon as he fell to the ground, I caught the sword again as it came down. And just in time; the last two wolverines tried to attack me with their wooden clubs. I used my sword to block it and then pushed against their clubs. I managed to push them a meter backwards or so, then withdrew my sword and hit the one in the head with my sword. I then changed my sword into a staff and the Spirit of Kung Fu made me capable of using the staff with even greater skill than I had seen Mei Ling use.

I swung it above my head, then swung it forwards and used it to block the wolverine's attacks, trying to make him lose it. I eventually managed to make him lose his clun with my special short-period skills. As soon as he had lost it, I turned around and then just bashed the staff against his head.

"Whew, that was intense," I said with a sigh of satisfaction when I turned back to Zhu and the wolverine. I then changed the staff back to the original scroll, put the Shift Jade back under my vest and threw the scroll aside.

"A Shift Jade I suppose," Zhu said in a somewhat curious and interested tone of voice. He then turned to the last standing wolverine. "Zhan, finish him off."

Zhan the wolverine brought up a real sword – yes a darn, real, metallic sword! I knew that now I was done for. I had no chance against a metallic sword, and I immediately regretted changing the scroll back into its original form – and then throwing it away.

I took one step backwards. If just I was able to summon the energy rush again! I clenched my right fist as Zhan took a few steps towards me. I was about to do something, but suddenly someone appeared from behind a bookshelf and delivered a kick to Zhan in the back.

"Who are you?" Zhu squealed in surprise at the sudden attack.

"Just an old friend of Hai," I heard Tigress say in midair. She landed beside me elegantly and took on a battle stance. It took a few seconds for Zhu to realize that it was Tigress. I was sure he remembered her from the last time we were inside the palace – who wouldn't?

"You... what are you here for?" Zhu asked with a growl of dismay. "And you call yourself a friend of his? He's a pirate!"

I kind of knew that would be coming. I mean, I am a pirate, so how obvious was it that he'd ask? Pretty obvious if you ask me. Tigress replied: "You obviously don't know... but Hai is more than just being a pirate."

"Yeah, and I'm so going to take you down," I elaborated on with a very self-conscious voice. It also Tigress looked at me with a face that told me to not get too cocky.

"I don't think so," Zhu said proudly and even cockier. "I have an army, a palace and an arsenal of magical scrolls. What do you have that I don't, Pirate?"

Well, I had… okay, I really had nothing. Oh wait – I actually had! I took a few steps forwards. I then crossed my arms and said: "I have friends, I have a life, and I have a brain."

I knew that these weren't any real things that I owned, but I knew that they were all things that Zhu did not have (the last one was kind of questionable). The part about having a life and a brain seemed to really make him angry, much to my pleasure. But nonetheless I knew that they were things that he would never have (Still, kind of questionable).

But before I could continue, the door was shot open. I kind of expected Po and the others to enter, but unfortunately those who entered were more wolverine guards. They were just as armed as the ones I had just knocked out, but they were at least seventeen and soon we were surrounded.

"See?" Zhu asked proudly. "I have a loyal army that follows my every order. Who needs friends?"

"Normal people," Tigress said and clenched her right fist and pressed it against her left palm, making her fingers make a popping noise. "Without friends you can do nothing."

It surprised me a little, since she had always been so quiet and always had had a loner aura about her. But now I knew that even though she didn't show it, she needed and loved her friends – even me!

But we didn't even get time to elaborate onto it before the new bunch of guards attacked us. I knew that we would have to work together once again, and luckily our relationship had gotten somewhat better, so I didn't expect her to use me as a dummy weapon without me knowing.

We backed up so that we stood back to back with each other. I wished that the Spirit of Kung Fu would return to me, and the fact that Tigress was there would help trigger it somewhat. But at the moment it didn't, so I would have to use pirate tricks to win.

The first club came swinging sideways towards me and I put all my strength into the counter attack I had in mind; I simply hit it from below with my hands at full force, thus making it contact with its owner's face. I then grabbed the club, pulled at it and managed to yank it from him. I then kicked the next wolverine that came and swung my club against another. I looked back at Tigress and saw that she was doing fine. She caught my gaze and faintly smiled at me. She then took me by the hand and I took a firm hold of hers.

Tigress then swung me over her head and made me land on the other side of her and I kicked the nearest wolverine. I then tightened my grip around Tigress' hand and swung her in a half circle while she kicked the wolverines in their heads on the way around, knocking at least four of them out. When she landed on her feet again, I let go of her hand and we punched two different wolverines in the head before kicking them in the chest.

I then took Tigress' hand once again and she swung me, so that I went flying towards a few wolverines behind her. I kicked them both in the chest with a foot for each. I landed on my feet again and punched another wolverine as he tried to tackle me. Another one tried too, but I jumped sideways and lifted my right foot into the air and then just used all my power to push backwards, eventually hitting him in the back and making him hit the ground.

As soon as the wolverines were all knocked out, we were up against Zhan. He had a metallic fine-quality sword as mentioned and I was a little unsure of how we would ever be able to win.

Zhan charged forwards with his sword aimed at me. I didn't know what to do at that moment and completely froze. But suddenly Tigress jumped over me with a front-flip and landed in front of me. Zhan's blade came sideways towards her, but she simply brought up both of her hands. Suddenly it was as if everything went in slow-motion. I don't know if that was some kind of special ability I had, but sometimes when something epic happens, time just seems to slow down. The blade slowly (At least from my point of view) made its way through the air towards Tigress, but as soon as it was about half a meter from her neck, she caught it between her palms – on the flat ends of course. Then, lightning fast, she let go and withdrew her arms and then punched upwards on the sword with her right fist. I would have thought that she would have gotten hurt because the blade was a little narrower than her fist, but she seemed to be all fine.

The sword fell out of Zhan's hands and went flying through the air in a wild swinging motion before impaling the wall behind Zhan. After that, everything returned to normal and I could see them all move at a normal speed. Zhan looked somewhat shocked at the move that Tigress had just performed. I smiled a little and looked over to see Zhu's face as well, but he wasn't there. That spoiled brat had run away! I know that I sometimes tend to be cowardly, but I wouldn't just get someone to fight to protect me and then run away! Okay, maybe I actually would, but you all knew that. Actually I kind of expected him to do just that, but I knew that we'd have to go get him sooner or later – all we needed now as the other Kung Fu Masters to gather. As soon as that happened, it'd all turn into pure epicness!

"So, where's your all-mighty emperor?" I asked sarcastically and walked up beside Tigress. Zhan didn't seem to be all that helpless without his sword, but now we at least had a bigger chance of beating him.

* * *

><p>Hey ya'll! I know I haven't updated this tory in a long time (At least after my standards, lol), but I've decided to update every Friday from now on.<p>

So anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll see you next w-... actually, before I go, I want to tell you that the sequel will be updated whenever I feel liek it, while the one-shots series that takes place between the two stories, will have the same time-slot as this one.

That was all I had to say, so see you! :D


	18. Tag Battles

_I am rejected by all worlds – no world is my world. In other words: any world can be my world!_

**Masahiro Inoue as Tsukasa Kadoya**

* * *

><p>Zhan seemed to be a little surprised at the fact that Zhu was gone, but he then obviously pretended to act all natural about it, as if it was planned or something. But Tigress and I both knew that it wasn't planned at all. I picked up a wooden club from one of the knocked out wolverines, and as soon as I stood fully upright again, Zhan charged us with a similar wooden club. He had seemingly gotten it from out of nowhere, but I was sure that he had had it hidden under his armory clothes or something.<p>

We both jumped aside to the left and we both landed with a roll. We quickly got to our feet and started fighting Zhan. He used his club and I used the one I had just taken, while Tigress was the only one who used her fists. I used my club to block Zhan's own club and as I did so, Tigress hit him in the chest area with both her hands formed in a somewhat weird way. But nonetheless, it sent him a meter or so backwards.

I then used my club to try and push his club sideways, away from his body. I basically tried to make him lose the club, but he managed to hold onto it. Tigress and I then started punching mercilessly at him as he stood there, even though I was only able to use my left hand.

When Tigress had hit Zhan with an especially hard punch that sent him another meter or so backwards, she simply gave me a simple order: "Kick."

We started running towards Zhan at full speed, then we both jumped into the air and planted a solid kick in his chest. The impact – mostly from Tigress' side – sent him flying backwards into a bookshelf. We were about to attack again when suddenly the bookshelf started swaying back and forth and a few scrolls even fell down.

"That's going to hurt," was all that escaped my mouth at which Tigress gave me a really bad look. I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to make fun of opponents, and how much Tigress hated to hear me do so. But the bookshelf didn't fall. Zhan started rambling about how we wouldn't be able to defeat him and it was really tiring to listen to. So to shut him up, I threw the wooden club in my hand at him.

He managed to dodge, and luckily (But totally unintended) the club hit the bookshelf instead. This didn't make it fall either as I had hoped, but it made a lot more scrolls rain down on Zhan. At this we jumped forwards. I ran to the side and around Zhan in a half circle, while Tigress charged him from the front.

She punched and kicked him a bunch of times before I did the technique I wanted to do; I charged Zhan and jumped and swept his feet away as I slid across the slippy, tiled floor.

The impact managed to knock Zhan over and at that, Tigress jumped into the air and planted another solid kick in his chest area. I was about to attack again, but suddenly Tigress stopped me. "No, go get your sword and the scrolls back."

I hesitated a little. I wanted to stay and help Tigress, but I did want to get my sword back. Besides, the blue scroll Zhu had taken from me seemed to be of high value. I eventually made up my mind and ran towards the door. I exited the library and came into the same hallway I had been in last time I was inside the palace.

This time I chose the nearest door. It led into a room full of wolverines. They seemed to be guarding something, but as soon as they saw me, they went berserk. I quickly closed the door again and found my Shift Jade. I had barely taken on the form of a wolverine before the door was busted open.

I instantly fell to my knees and pretended to be hurt.

"Where'd that stupid pirate go?" the first wolverine asked and looked around at all the doors.

"Who do you-…? I mean, he went… that way," I said, almost revealing myself. If I hadn't stopped myself from asking who he addressed as That Stupid Pirate, I would have been busted for good.

As soon they were gone, I proceeded into the room once again. I walked up to the last two guards that had stayed behind and pretended to be on the next shift, and the ones that were there just shrugged and walked off. Darn idiots.

When I was finally left alone, I took on my normal form and looked around the room. It looked like a treasure chamber of some sort, even though all there was was a lot of artifacts hanging on the walls and a big, wooden chest. I walked up to it and tried to open it, but ultimately failed. I then tried to knock on the side of the chest. It made a very dull, yet metallic rattling sound. That could only mean one thing: _MONEY!_

I immediately got an idea: I could give it to my dad and say that it was the treasure! But how would I actually hand it to him? The chest was almost bigger than myself and probably much heavier. Then I looked around the room. There wasn't that much else to look at, so obviously I had picked the wrong room.

I exited the treasure chamber and went into the next room. This room looked more like a little theater of some sort. There was a stage and some furniture too. There were various paintings on the walls and on the stage there were five clouded leopards.

"Okay, that'll be enough practice for now," one of them said. Like the others, she had pale gray fur with some darker, rather brownish patches of fur. They all looked very similar and the only way I could tell difference was because of their patterns of spots. They all wore the same outfit; some brown robes and matching gloves. The five also seemed to have some parasols, so maybe they were parasol dancers. I walked up to the stage and that's when they saw me.

"Oh… hello there…" she said to me, immediately changing into a more flirty tone. This was just like chapter eleven over again!

"Eh… hi," I said, barely affected by the flirting. "Who're you?"

"We're the Ladies of the Sh-… wait, do we know each other?" she suddenly stopped herself. I didn't know the answer to her question. Yeah, sure she looked familiar, and her voice also ringed a little bell somewhere in my head. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Oh yes, I believe we do," one of the others said. "It's that guy who got us busted back in Bai Yingli!"

Oh, that was right. The Ladies of the Shade! They're basically people whose work pretty much falls under the same carrier as mine; theft. They're a whole bunch and they travel around in China and steal while some of their members captivate people with their parasol dance. Now I knew why they seemed so familiar!

It's actually kind of a funny story – at least from my point of view. Back when I was… I think ten or so, my dad and I had been there the same day as they had, and they had started stealing from people by pickpocketing them and so had I. We eventually got into a heated fight and then Baozhai showed up. Let's just say that I got them busted and made a run for it. After catching them, she set out after me. A very intense chase I have to say; through several villages and towns, and I just barely made it to the ship. Obviously they escaped while she chased me or something.

"Now, now, that's a long time ago," I said, trying to defend myself. I started backing up a little, but suddenly one of them jumped over me and landed on the other side. Soon they were all standing around me in a circle, eying me like hungry beasts that were about to slay their prey, which might be what they were about to do. "People change and everyone deserves a second chance, don't you think so?"

"No," the first of them immediately replied. She then got a little too close to me and started running her finger in circles on my chest. After a few seconds she stopped and lifted her hand up in front of my face. She then extended the claw on her index finger, so that it cut through the glove. "I think it's about time we finally get revenge."

"Ladies, don't you think hurting someone else is…?"

"Hai?" I looked over at the door and saw a familiar person looking at the somewhat awkward scene. I had never been happier to see that much fat in my life – and so much black and white fur for that matter.

"Po, you're here!" I said full of relief. "Maybe you could help me out here!"

"Po?" the first of the clouded leopards said and looked over at Po with a surprised face. Obviously she knew him for whatever reason – I couldn't really imagine how or why.

"Song?" Po asked, confusing me even more. There then came a very awkward silence where the other clouded leopards and I looked from Song to Po with a confused face. But just as Po and Song were about to talk again, I quickly interrupted them, thus killing the moment.

"You know each other? Okay fine, you can talk then! I'm sure you have some catching up to do!" I said and made my way away from Song and her friends. I passed by Po and softly patted him on the shoulder. "See you around!"

I hurried out of the room and proceeded into the room on the opposite side. This seemed to be some kind of throne room. The room's floor was covered in stony tiles and there were tall pillars reaching from the floor to the ceiling, and there was a throne at the end of the room. But the windows were sealed, so obviously it wasn't used any more...

The throne was placed on top of a little stage of some sort. There was a little staircase that led up to the throne itself. The throne was made of golden metal, most likely gold, and there was a fence leading up and down the small staircases that were golden too. There were even golden dragon statues on the throne and the wall behind it.

There were huge paintings on the walls too. The motifs were all sorts of things; the sea, sunrises, sunsets, forests and mountains, and seemingly there were poems written on them too, obviously made with a calligraphy brush.

Suddenly the door was opened and I jumped over behind one of the pillars. But the voice that came next immediately calmed me down. "Hai?"

"Oh, it's just you, Viper," I sighed with relief and came out from my hide. But when I came out, I was in for a surprise. It wasn't Viper – it was Zhan. For whatever reason he was here, and-… wait, had he beat Tigress?

"Yes, it's me… _Viper_," he said teasingly, though in the same voice. How could he speak with Viper's voice? Suddenly he held up a scroll of some sort. There was a pattern that looked like the Chinese characters for Viper's name… Zhan let his hand glide over the scroll and the writing changed. Suddenly it had my name on it!

"Now look at me," he said in my voice, truly surprising and somewhat frightening me. "I'm a stupid pirate."

"Hey, that isn't nice," I said, pretending to be offended by his parody of me. "So what about you stop your little acting and face me as a real man?"

Zhan smiled at me with an evil grin. "What do you know about that?"

I was about to charge him when I suddenly saw something out of the corner of my eye. It stood leaned up against the wall beside the throne. The sleek wooden handle and the just as sleek blade stood there in all its somewhat unique glory; my sword!

I quickly hurried up to the throne and picked it up with my right hand. I remember how I had hated it so deeply when I was forced to use it, but now, after not using it for such a long time, I couldn't think of anything that felt more right than to hold the wooden sword in my hand again.

I threw the sword into the air and caught it with my left hand. I brought my left hand upwards and tilted it, so that the wooden blade was resting on my shoulders. I then pointed at Zhan with my index finger on my right hand, signaling for him to come and get some beating. I actually felt really cool, and decided that this should be my official battle pose from there and on.

"Is that supposed to be intimidating?" Zhan asked and brought up his metallic sword, which he had also gotten back somehow. I knew that the common sense would tell anyone that my sword would be nothing but a stick compared to that sword, but I knew that wasn't the case.

I then charged Zhan. I ran at full speed towards him and he started running towards me too. I changed my sword to my right hand while running and when we were about to collide, I saw him raise his sword to strike. I could tell that he would strike downwards, so I brought my sword down to strike upwards.

When we were less than one foot from each other, our swords' blades contacted. A heavy clashing sound was heard throughout the room, but nothing happened to my sword. Zhan looked sincerely surprised at the fact that my sword seemingly was just as solid as his was.

Then at the same time we pulled our swords back and I slammed my sword towards Zhan's head. The wolverine managed to block it with his own sword and then pushed me backwards. I stumbled a few feet backwards and just barely managed to block Zhan's sword as it came towards my own face.

This time he also tried to push me backwards, but I simply fell on my back on purpose, making him fall with me. Then it happened again: everything went in slow-motion. I could see his big body and every single detail on him above me as he fell over me. I pulled up my legs and pressed them against his stomach area with all my force.

Time returned to normal and he landed on the ground behind me. I rolled to the side and got to my feet just as Zhan swung his sword towards me. I jumped sideways and backed up a few meters.

Zhan was about to attack again, but suddenly he was hit by three dashes of green and brown. I stared in awe as the three dashes repeatedly struck him again and again. Suddenly Qi, Mantis and Ye landed in front of me. The three insects were tiny compared to Zhan, but they had managed to keep him away.

"Thanks," I said and got to my feet. "I needed that."

"You're welcome," Ye said as he and his friends took on a battle stance.

Zhan got to his feet as well and looked down at the three insects in front of him. If I didn't know them, I would also have thought that they would be no match for Zhan, but fortunately I did.

"What difference are you three bugs going to make?" Zhan asked in a carefree, careless and arrogant way. "I'm superior to you all in size and strength. You can't possibly defeat me."

"That might be…" I said and took on my new battle stance (The one where I rested my wooden blade on my shoulders).

"… but strength and size isn't everything," Mantis finished the sentence. Just as he had, Zhan growled at us and jumped and slammed his sword downwards towards us. We all jumped to the side and just as we landed, we all hit him with a kick in his left side.

"Strength is nothing if you can't hit your target," Qi said, sounding very clever with a 'wise' tone of voice. I then jumped forwards and slashed Zhan's arm with my sword a few times, then slashed his torso. He was about to make a counterattack, but I jumped backwards just as Ye and Mantis hit each of his shoulders with a powerful kick. The two managed to knock him over, but he had barely landed on the ground before he somehow started hovering above the floor.

I was about to poke him with my sword, just to see what was up with him, but suddenly he flew into the air. Where he had been lying seconds ago, I saw Qi. The little stag beetle must have been much stronger than I thought, and he gave the word 'strength' new meaning.

Before I could do anything, I felt something land on my shoulder. I turned my head and just barely managed to see Ye before he leaped into the air. The force in his spring-like legs had been so powerful, that I was almost afraid that my shoulder would break.

I watched in amazement as the little grasshopper easily jumped to a height that that was above Zhan. He then turned his body midair and suddenly descended at an amazingly high speed with his right leg extended for a kick. I couldn't quite see it from where I stood, but I was pretty sure he hit Zhan somewhere around the stomach area, since Zhan's descending speed also rose until he hit the hard tiled floor.

Ye's attack managed to knock him out, and now I for sure knew that ticking any of these guys off could be a fatal mistake.

"Thanks for that," I said to the three insects.

"Hai, go find Zhu and that scroll he took from you," Mantis told me. "We'll go help gathering the Masters."

"So there have arrived more Masters?" I asked surprised. Well, of course Qi and Ye were there, but still… If more Masters had appeared, that meant that we would soon have to have the final battle.

"Yup! How else would we have survived when you and Crane just left," Mantis asked. I just shrugged at the fact that he said that we had 'just left' even though Po had said that it was okay.

* * *

><p>I ran up the staircase, trying to find a potential place to look for Zhu. The staircase was really long, and I didn't even know what floor Zhu had fled to; there were doors on every single floor, and the palace was enormous. It could take forever to find that coward!<p>

When I finally reached the top of the staircase, I arrived at another floor only with two doors. One seemed to lead outside, either as an emergency escape or for guards to be able to patrol the roof, and the other must have led into another room. I choose the last one and came into an enclosed, little room. Right there in the middle of the room, surrounded by carious scrolls, was Zhu.

He was looking at the orange scroll he had taken from me last time I was in the palace. He jumped in surprise when I entered, but immediately grabbed a staff of some sort from the wall and pointed it towards me. It was made of metal and had a very sharp, blade-like tip.

"How'd you get past Zhan?" Zhu asked worriedly. He had obviously not expected me to be able to defeat him. Well, if Qi, Mantis and Ye hadn't shown up, I probably wouldn't have been able to.

"I got a _little_ help," I said, chuckling to myself at the joke, even though I knew that Zhu wouldn't get it. I also saw that the blue scroll I was looking for was on the floor, now along with the orange one.

I jumped forwards, landing in a sit down position and tried to get the scroll. Zhu tried to hit me with the staff he had, but I brought up my sword and blocked it. I hadn't expected him to be good at fighting, and he certainly didn't seem to be; he had left his body fully exposed by having both hands on the staff.

I kicked him in the stomach and he fell backwards. He fell to his knees and looked like he could vomit any second. I bowed down, grabbed the blue scroll and ran.


	19. An Unexpected Alliance

So here's chapter nineteen! We're getting closer and closer to the 'Grand Finale'! (That's supposed to be Spanish... -_-) I kind of wish that I could make it all last longer, but the fact that I'll update weekly doesn't really make it any easier for me... I _so_ want to upload a chapter when I finish it, but... ARGH!

*Ahem*, anyways, here's a little forerunner to the finale.

And you're probably wondering why the AN is in the start of the chapter for once... well, here's why: in this chapter, you'll finally get to hear the point in the joke I made by even creating Jissai in the first place... and fans of a certain character, please don't kill me...

So, I'll see you next time, and as always you can drop off a review if you like it - it'll be greatly appreciated! See ya'!

- Timbit

* * *

><p><em>Alliance does not mean love, any more than war means hate.<em>

**Francis Parker Yockey**

* * *

><p>I exited the room and started running down the staircase. I could hear Zhu get to his feet and start yelling for guards to do something. As I continued down the circular staircase, I suddenly saw a door up ahead get opened, and I saw a wolverine come in.<p>

There was no other option than to try and get past him. I did my hardest to run at full speed towards the wolverine, even though it was pretty hard on a staircase. I jumped forwards and slammed his wooden club out of his hand with my sword, then kicked him in the stomach, and as soon as he was knocked aside I continued running.

Soon the wolverine started chasing me down the stairs. I ran as fast as I possibly could, and luckily the wolverine also had a certain struggle running on a staircase.

I finally reached the next floor and just darted past one of the doors that led outside when it was suddenly opened. The wolverine behind me wasn't as lucky; something or someone suddenly came flying through the door – another wolverine.

I continued running, but looked backwards as I proceeded down the next staircase. Suddenly Monkey came through the door by holding onto a lantern hanging from the ceiling and swinging himself inside. He joined me, but instead of running beside me, he ran on the fence at the edge of the staircase, and even seemed to slide downwards similar to the weird sliding technique the Storm Clan had used last time I saw them fight.

"Thanks," I said in between breaths as we kept proceeding downwards. I was actually already getting pretty exhausted, but I knew I had to keep going. Monkey was right beside me now, and soon more doors were opened below us, and a bunch of wolverines entered. They were all armed, but we had to keep going – there was no turning back now!

When we reached the next floor, Monkey jumped off the fence and kicked one of them in the head, knocking him backwards. Then we ran together against the other wolverines that had blocked our way.

I threw my sword to Monkey, which he caught and wielded in some very bizarre ways; he didn't only use his hands, but also his tail and hand-like feet. It looked a little weird, but it was impressive nonetheless.

I myself took on the wolverines by fist-fighting them. And by fist-fighting I mean sweeping their feet away and using other dirty tricks. It was obvious that they had never fought against a pirate before, since I had an easy time owning them all.

A wolverine tried to hit me with his wooden club, but I ducked and swept his feet away by rotating my body in a sit down-pose. The wolverine fell off his feet and landed on his back. I jumped up, placed my feet on his chest with a massive stomp and punched the next wolverine in the face. I did pretty fine, even though I was happy when Monkey threw the sword back to me.

I slashed the third wolverine across his face then kicked him in the stomach, and in the same motion I twisted my body and swept the feet of a fourth wolverine away with my sword.

When the little squad of wolverines was knocked out, we made our way down the next staircase. Suddenly we saw a ton of wolverines come towards us from below. We immediately knew we wouldn't be able to fight them all off. But what else option did we have?

"Okay, we're done for now," Monkey said, actually sounding worried for once. This was one of the few times where I really wanted to hear some sassy and sarcastic comments from him, but you always want what you can't have, right?

"Guys, this way!" Monkey and I jumped in surprise when we heard Viper's voice from behind us. I actually kind of thought that it was Zhan or someone else who used that weird voice changing scroll… but it was really her! She stood in one of the opened doors and through that we could get out!

We quickly followed her and soon we were running across the roof of the palace. We could hear the wolverines from the inside, and suddenly I felt something hit my shoulder. At first I thought they had shot an arrow at me or something, but it was just Mantis.

"Didn't you go help gather the Masters?" I asked as we ran. We eventually came to an edge and were cut off from the freedom. The wolverines were proceeding up the staircases – I could hear them – and when they got here, we'd be dead.

"We already have," Mantis replied. "We're all ready and set! Hey, where's Tigress?"

I immediately remembered that Zhan had somehow defeated her. Was she dead? No, nothing could kill Tigress, but then where was…?

A battle roar from inside the palace answered my question. A second later, three or four wolverines came flying through the wall inches from our heads. We ducked and shielded our faces with our arms (Viper simply hid behind me), and when we looked up again, we saw Po and Tigress stand where there had been a wall seconds ago.

"You weren't about to leave without us, were you?" Po asked with a smile. I was about to ask if he had been able to handle the Ladies, but we heard the wolverines had come out through one of the doors and were on the roof as well now.

"Okay, we need to get out of here," Po said and looked around, trying to come up with a plan. I couldn't really think of anything, but suddenly I saw Crane coming towards us. He landed a few feet from us, closer to the wolverines. He then did some kind of weird pose, then flapped his wings once, and the wolverines were blown backwards by the powerful wind he created.

Hey, maybe Crane could carry us! I looked at the skinny bird and immediately threw that plan in the trash; there could be a risk that his legs would snap or something, and…

"Guys, I've got it!" I suddenly said as I got a _better_ idea that could fatally injure _all_ of us. I walked over to the edge and looked down. No, we were still too high. I put my hands on the edge and climbed down to the next floor and the others followed suit.

There weren't any wolverine on this floor yet, and we quickly climbed down to the next. The others had probably not figured my plan out, and probably thought that we were just supposed to climb down to the bottom of the palace. No, because that's not _epic_ and that's not how _I_ roll.

When we were four floors lower, I thought it was good enough and stopped. I turned to the others and said: "Are you ready?"

"For what?" Mantis asked.

"To jump of course," I said in a carefree voice. The others immediately started complaining about my 'sick plan', but we realized that we didn't have much time.

Suddenly a door was busted open and some wolverines came out. They had soon cut us off and my 'sick plan' was really the only option left. The others realized this and we took a few steps towards the wolverines and pretended like we were about to attack.

But just as they started charging us, we turned around and ran towards the edge. There was only about fifty meters down or something – no biggie. Finally our feet (And bodies… referring to Viper) let go of the edge and we jumped.

Just as we did, it came back; the slow-motion effect. I could feel the air blow against my face and through my fur, even though it felt like a thick liquid of some sort because it moved so slowly, even though it was probably all in my mind.

I turned my head and looked at the others. It was hard to believe what we had been through together and how many battles we had fought either against or beside each other. It already felt like I had known them all for years, and like the journey had just barely started. At least I knew that the real epicness would start as soon as we landed.

"This is so _awesome_!" Po said in slow-motion, which sounded really weird and also kind of funny to me. "I love you guys!"

"I love you all too!" I said in slow-motion as well. I almost laughed at how I sounded. It was actually also the first time I had ever been able to say that to someone. It was a little hard to believe that it should be these people. But nonetheless they were my only friends and I really did. "But you've got one thing wrong wrong Po."

"And what's that?" he asked, still in slow-motion.

"It's not _awesome_," I said. It felt and sounded really silly to be having a slow-motion conversation, but I continued: "No; today it's called _EPIC_!"

Just as the word 'epic' left my lips, time returned to normal and I realized that we hadn't even been falling that fast. The fall had probably been slowed down because of the wind resistance our bodies made, well, maybe except mantis and Viper since they were the smallest of us.

Soon we landed on the ground. Everyone but Po and I landed gracefully, while we landed flat on our stomachs. Not to be rude, but he had probably had a softer landing than I had, since… well, I think you know why…

I got to my feet and realized that I wasn't dead, only close to vomiting. I picked up my sword and said: "Okay, maybe we shouldn't ever do that again."

The others quickly agreed, and soon we realized that we were outside the city walls. Now we would have a hard time getting inside again, if we had to gather all the Masters inside the city. But just how would we gather more than three-thousand people in that city?

Suddenly we saw a ton of wolverines coming towards us from where the harbor was behind the wall – they probably had some kind of hidden gate. But it wasn't just twenty or thirty wolverines. No, we were talking big numbers – around at least one-hundred!

There were no allies around, so we had to keep them away until they'd arrive. This was seemingly the first wave of Zhu's army, and we charged them with a battle roar.

I took on a group that was close to a nearby forest. They wore some different armor and seemed to be much better at fighting compared to the other wolverine guards I had seen so far. They had different fighting techniques and I soon realized that this might have been a bad idea.

I tried to defend myself with my sword, but they easily hit me with punches, kicks and their clubs several times. My body was already hurting and I started backing up into the woods. The others did as well and soon we fled through the forest.

The soldiers followed us and soon we came to a clearing. Suddenly we were cut off by a bunch of other wolverines. They had run in another direction and now we we're surrounded!

"This is bad," Po said as we stood back to back in a circle. Suddenly I heard a metallic clashing noise. Next thing I knew, a bunch of wolverines fell to the ground. What the…?

Then I noticed the person standing by a tree in a slashing pose with a sharp-looking metallic sword. I recognized the black and white robes with the golden trims, and the brownish gray fur all too well; Shanqu.

The wolverines near him charged him, but he easily overpowered them with his sharp sword techniques (No pun intended). I didn't know where he got the sword from, but it seemed to be made of some very strong metal.

Suddenly a wolverine tried to take advantage of the fact that Shanqu was there, and tried to attack me. But before he could, a dash of feathers struck down and hit him from above. I was very surprised and also thankful, and I kind of thought that it was Jufeng or Feng at first. But then I recognized the purple robes and dark gray feathers.

"Aw, did you miss me?" I asked Fenghuang with a somewhat sarcastic tone. The others stared a little at her, obviously also surprised by her presence.

"Yeah, obviously," she replied and sent me a faint smile. It surprised me a little to hear her say that, but then she said: "I mean, I accidentally hit that guy instead of you, right?"

I just shrugged and rolled my eyes as I felt the others stare as they probably wondered how I could bring myself to have such a conversation with Fenghuang. And with a little smile and a wink she flew into battle with a bunch of wolverines.

Suddenly something big and heavy charged another bunch of wolverines that were about to attack. It took a few seconds for me to realize that it was Fung and his minions. Out of all people in the world, they were the ones I expected least to show up at this moment.

"What are they doing here?" Po asked surprised as the crocodiles started attacking the wolverines. Soon they were joined by a bunch of wolves and gorillas and... Hundun too! "And what are _they_ doing here?"

"I made a deal with them," Shanqu replied as he knocked out a wolverine with a solid kick. "If they'd help us, I'd let them go."

It sounded a little weird to me; Shanqu was a sheriff, so why would he suggest such a thing? Maybe he actually liked chasing criminals (Liked as in 'he thought that it was fun'), and planned on tracking all of them down. As long as he'd leave _me_ alone, I didn't care.

"Yup, but at least he won't be able to find me." Suddenly something landed on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Tong Fo. The little whatever-he-is looked like he did last time I saw him, just like with the others. He then nodded towards Fung and his minions and continued: "But I don't expect much from those mindless reptiles… anyways, see you around Hai!"

Just before he joined the fight, he turned towards Po and the Five. "By the way, I'll be coming back to get my War Hammer soon."

I was actually impressed at how Tong Fo fought – much better than I had expected. He, just like I, used a lot of dirty tricks while fighting, so the wolverines didn't even seem to overpower him the least.

"Dragon Warrior, Furious Five… and Hai," Shanqu said and walked over to us just as he had knocked down two or three wolverines. "You need to go past these woods to the mountains. The other Masters are waiting."

We all nodded in agreement and made a run for it through the forest. I knew that the final battle was about to come for two reasons:

First: I could feel the epicness in the air!

And second: the fact that Shanqu had teamed up with 'wanted criminals' was enough to let me know that we all – all of China – stood against the same enemy. If people of such different backgrounds could form an alliance, I couldn't see how we could possibly lose to Zhu's army.

But I was hoping too soon. A bunch of vultures landed in front of us and blocked our way. Just great; I _really_ didn't want to deal with them right now. We all took on our personal battle stances and were about to attack, but suddenly two dashes of gray, black and white fur darted past us and knocked the vultures aside.

We all went back into a normal stance with a surprised face at the fact that someone else had saved us. I recognized Jissai right away and also the cloaked figure beside her – her 'lover'. The snow leopard duo quickly knocked out all the vultures with a series of kicks and punches - they even used Chi Energy at one point!

"And what is it you're supposed to say here…?" Jissai asked in a hinting tone when the birds were down.

"Thanks," I said. She chuckled a little, but suddenly another vulture came striking downwards. He was flying at full speed and tried to strike Jissai with his talons, but Jissai's boyfriend was faster. He jumped into the air, punched the vulture in the head – once with each fist – and to finish him off, he made a spin kick midair, knocking the vulture against a tree.

The spin kick had caused the hood on his cloak to fall off and finally I was able to see his face. He had a handsome face – not going to lie: he actually made me kind of jealous – and yellow eyes. The fur on his face was gray with black spots too, and the fur on his muzzle and underside was more whitish, and his black whiskers were in put up in pointy locks that pointed each direction.

"… _you_…" I looked over at Tigress and saw her shocked face – actually the same face that the others had as well. I didn't know what there was with him, but it certainly looked like the thing Jissai had said about everyone thinking poorly of her lover was true.

But all he simply did was to send us all a faint, yet sneaky smile and said: "See you around."

Even after the duo left, we just stood there and did nothing. I eventually asked them what was wrong and they just quickly told me who he was. It turned out that his name was Tai Lung and that they had had some big problems with each other in the past. Let's just say that seeing him here had been a huge shock to the six, and the last thing they had expected to see.

We continued to run through the forest and when we finally got out, I could see the mountains a few hundred meters away. Now all we had to do was to get there. We ran to a little to the right, so that we didn't have the forest behind us, but were completely surrounded by mountains and hills. We continued to run towards the mountains, and we saw Zhu's army coming not only from the city (Luckily for Shanqu and the 'criminals' they had walked around the forest in order to get here faster), but also from some mountains further to the right of us. The army that came from the city was big enough… but the one that came from the mountains; even bigger! The seven of us alone would stand no chance, but luckily we would meet our allies by the mountains… hopefully.

Finally we came to the foot of the nearest mountain, but there were no Master there. We all looked around as the wolverine army formed a gigantic wall in front of us. Luckily there was about five-hundred meters between them and us, but where were those Masters?


	20. The Millennium War

_The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom, is dying out._

**Walter Benjamin**

* * *

><p>The seven of us walked a hundred meters or so forwards and stood even closer to the wolverine army and further away from the mountains. I looked from the left to the right at my six friends. If we didn't make it through, we would at least die together, and… Wait, what was that?<p>

Suddenly I felt a strange presence – like, you know that feeling when it feels like someone's watching you even though you're alone? It was pretty much that feeling. And even before they arrived, I knew it was them.

I turned my head and saw various people come down several mountain paths (Most of them came down the widest one that was right behind us). They were so many that I could barely comprehend it. I didn't even know all of them, but I did recognize a few faces here and there; Baozhai, Ai, Wei Feng, Lihua, Changchang, Fang, Gongzhu, Wangzi, Mei Ling and Qiu. The eleven walked up and stopped right behind us. We all turned around and nodded to tell them that we were ready. They nodded back, while the few hundred Masters gathered up behind us. They even stood on the cliffs and mountain paths because of the lack of room, and soon more Masters joined in.

From the sky came the Jufeng, Daiyu, Feng and various other Masters, who were capable of flight that I didn't even know. Now _they_ were many – far, far more than the ones who had already gathered behind us – and they all landed behind the Masters that came before them. We had already been many and now we were even more. The entire crowd even had to move a little around so that there was room enough for everyone.

From another forest to the left came the rest of the Storm Clan. Weifeng, Shunfeng and Fengbao were accompanied by many more Masters, most of which seemed to be of some younger generations than the ones who were already gathered - there were even some teenagers in there. The Strom Clan joined us as well, so the twenty-three of us formed a frontline that consisted of Po, the Furious Five and me and a secondary frontline consisting of the other Masters who had had a special influence on my journey.

I looked to my right and saw a bunch appear from behind a big hill. They walked over the hill and soon they joined us. This group seemed to have the biggest gathering, and if they had fought against those of us who had already gathered, we'd be greatly outnumbered - they were at least three times as many as us! This group on the other hand seemed to be of some of the older generations, but they all looked like they could fight, luckily.

Up front walked Shifu, Biyu and the Kung Fu Council – Master Storming Ox, Master Croc and Master Striking Rhino – and as soon as they got to us, they walked up and joined the V-shaped secondary frontline behind us as well, while everyone else formed an enormous diamond-shape of people behind us.

"Is this everyone?" I asked Shifu and looked out at the wolverine army again. We were almost equally matched now, so we had a chance of winning.

"Almost," Shifu replied. "I couldn't get to Junjie, Shanqu and a few others, but…"

"Okay, let's do this," I said and slapped my sword against my left palm. I walked a few steps forwards and looked back at everyone who had gathered. It was hard to believe that all these people (more than three-thousand) were here because of the same reason – because of the same enemy.

Those of us who formed the frontline took on our usual battle stances, and soon I got goose bumps when I heard the sound of over three-thousand Kung Fu Masters behind us take on their own battle stances - epic!

"Let's do this with epicness," I said. I then remembered that Po's parallel to my 'epic', and said: "No, let's do this with _awesome_ epicness!"

Suddenly the wolverine army started charging us. That coward Zhu was nowhere to be seen, and I was sure he was hiding inside his little palace. When we were done with this, I knew we would have to kill him – what other option did we have?

"Everyone… let's go!" I yelled and raised my sword into the air. The many other Masters threw their hand, or their wielded weapon, up in the air and (Safe for Fengbao) made a battle roar that gave me the chills (In a good way). Next thing I knew, we all charged into battle… next thing I knew, the _awesome_ epicness started for real.

...

The West Side of the battlefield

…

_The Mao Enforcers' four members take the right side of the battlefield. They all wield their respective weapons; Qiu has his Imperial Sword, Mei Ling her wooden staff and the lion twins, Gongzhu and Wangzi, both have a dagger each._

_Qiu Mao, the true emperor, takes on the first wolverine that comes into reach. He slashes his sword against the wolverine's wooden club, which easily breaks in half. He then slashes him across the stomach, which is covered by metallic armor, then uses his arm to block an incoming punch before slashing him across the stomach again in a spinning motion, leaving an X-shaped marking behind. And to finish him off, he kicks the wolverine in the chest. Qiu then goes on to the next bunch of soldiers. He jumps into the air, kicks one of them in the chest, and then makes a backflip and punches the next wolverine in the face._

_Mei Ling hits one wolverine in the face with her staff, then she swings it above her head, and in one quick motion sweeps the feet of three wolverines away. The Masters that had been standing behind her and her teammates seconds ago have rushed past them and are fighting some of the wolverines that are further away than the ones she is fighting._

_She jumps into the air, does a spin kick and lands in front of a wolverine. He tries to hit her with his wooden club, but she uses her staff to block his attack. As a few other wolverines tries to attack, she uses her strong right leg to hit them in the stomach area with several rapid and powerful kicks. When they are pushed a little backwards, she smashes her staff against the first wolverine's chest. She then puts all her force into her arms. In a matter of seconds, she has used her staff to literally send the wolverine flying. To finish him off, she then jumps into the air and smashes him downwards with her staff._

_Gongzhu and her brother attack the wolverines near them. A few powerful kicks and punches along with their daggers are enough the keep them away. Wangzi jumps forwards and smashes his fist against the nearest wolverine's face. Before he can even recover, Gongzhu jumps up and hit him in the chest with a kick._

_At the same time, the two lions turn around and slash a wolverine in the chest as he tries to attack them. Wangzi suddenly charges a bunch of four wolverines. He jumps into the air when he is two feet away from them and hits them all in their chest areas with some solid kicks. Soon after someone swings a wooden staff towards the wolverines' heads, and all he can do is to duck._

_As soon as they are knocked out, he turns to look at Mei Ling who stands there with her staff. She smiles at him, and he just smiles back and gives her a thumbs-up. Their little distraction almost costs them a wooden club to the head, but luckily an old Kung Fu Master, a hawk, strikes down and hits the wolverine with his small, yet strong talons._

_But before the two felines can thank the avian, he takes off yet again and soars into the sky. There he joins a gray vulture, a yellow owl, white swan and a dark blue swallow._

_As the Mao Enforcers keep fighting off the wolverines, the avian Masters strike down and hit the wolverines either with their powerful talons or their strong wings. Despite their age, they are some of the stronger and well-known Masters in this war – the Aerial Alliance._

_Below them the war rages on. Various Masters who never would have met each other otherwise work together to defeat the enemy; strangers from different provinces help one another, people from different ranks in the community and society, and people with different religions are also quick to help one another; even rivals fight alongside rivals!_

_The Kung Fu Council supports the earth-bound fight going on. The three heavyweight Masters don't have too much difficulty keeping the wolverines away – especially not Striking Rhino who has his Cloud Hammer. He isn't fully grown yet, so to make up for the strength he lacks compared to his teammates, he swings the powerful hammer at the wolverines' bodies with full force – Unstoppable Force, just like his predecessor, Thundering Rhino. Storming Ox and Master Croc fight differently – they use their massive raw strength and Master Croc also uses his spiky, sphere-shaped tail-club to attack the wolverines behind him._

_Near them are Shanqu and the criminals he cut a deal with. Unbeknownst to the other Masters, they keep a smaller squad of wolverines away inside the forest – what wouldn't they think if they heard about this deal?_

_The middle-aged wolf blocks another incoming attack with the legendary Háo, the sword of a Thousand Howls. He keeps the wolverine's wooden club in place, kicks another in the chest, withdraws his sword, and before the wolverine can react, he hits him in the face with the metallic handle of the sword._

_The various criminals around Shanqu were also fighting with their maximum strength, their hearts and their souls – surprising him greatly. Fenghuang displays great agility when airborne and a fantastic display of techniques; whether they are ones used with the help of her wing-blades, standard Kung Fu moves or even the Impossible Moves._

_Fung and his minions, along with Tong Fo go both ways. They do have a decent knowledge about fighting with technique, but sometimes they also use some rather dirty tricks to fight, for an example to attack their enemies by going two or three against one._

_The gorillas and wolves that had previously been members of Lord Shen's army also go against another man's army, just to help the man who gave them freedom from Chorh-Gom Prison. The same thing goes for Hundun. Not only does he see his chance to get revenge on the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior. No, he also wants to help the young man, who granted him his freedom and mental suffering from the shame and embarrassment that being locked in the prison he used to guard has given him._

_Back on the main battlefield, the Masters on the western side keep going. They might have been feeling a certain doubt on their way to this place… doubt about the fact that the legendary Millennium Warrior is a pirate… but, each and every one of them, they know one thing for sure: as long as they live – whether they will stand as the last survivor – they will keep fighting to keep evil from blooming; they'll keep China and its future safe._

_Master Qiu has parted from the Mao Enforcers and teamed up with Grandmaster Jilu, his granduncle, and Master Huo Huan, one of his distant relatives. The three leopards use their sharp moves to perform unmatched techniques – all of a different type of Style – to fight off the troops. Qiu isn't the only one who's armed; Master Huo Huan wields her Huan Rings, her fierce metallic ring weapons, with forged in flame motifs around the edges, which she got from her grandmother, Master Leopard, and Grandmaster Jilu wields a big, metallic lance that forks in two directions in end._

_Huo Huan uses her Rings in a variety of ways; to block incoming attacks, to slash the attackers' weapons in halves and to attack them back. Jilu uses his lance to ram it against the torso of the wolverines, and thanks to the fact that it parts on the middle, he's able to throw the wolverines at each other. He also uses it for a set of various, complicated Kung Fu moves._

_Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield, Qi and Ye have teamed up with Master Striking Rhino. The two small insects are fighting by riding on top of each other, thus making the perfect combo; Qi's incredible strength mixed with Ye's powerful legs make a mix of strenght and agility. Suddenly the two insects come up with another idea. They quickly tell the big rhino about their idea, and he agrees. Ye gets them both high into the air, then they separate and perform the Chi Technique The Unbreakable Body. As soon as they come back down again, Striking Rhino uses his Cloud Hammer to hurl them at the opponents near them._

…

Meanwhile on The East Side of the Battlefield

…

_Jufeng and his teammates partly fight on the ground and partly airborne. As ninjas, even the non-avian Weifeng, Shunfeng and Fengbao are able to do the Ninja Geijutsu technique called 'Sora Odori – the Sky Dance. As it shares name with their dead Master's wife, they always perform it with great ease and it's one of their most used techniques._

_The technique basically enables them to literally run through the air as if they were flying, and no one – wolverines and Masters – have ever seen such a technique before. At least it works as a good intimidation on the wolverines._

_Jufeng smoothly soars through the air a foot or so above the ground as he attacks the wolverines that get in his way with his sword – luckily he doesn't even need his wings for flying, thanks to the fact that his long and wide wings enable him to soar, even while he uses his katana. In order to honor Hai, they have all replaced their usual katanas with wooden versions – also to make fun of the wolverines though._

_Jufeng lands on the ground back-to-back with Fengbao. The two ninjas have always known that a day like this would come. They have fought together all their lives – if you didn't know better, you'd almost think that they were brothers._

_As a group of fifteen wolverines charges them, they quickly turn their right hands sideways, so that the blades of their swords were lying sideways, pointing to their right. They bring up their index- and middle-fingers (Feathers in Jufeng's case) on their right hands and bring their left fist up under their right hand and perform the Ninja Geijutsu called _Ken no Arashi_ – the Storm of Swords – their signature technique. Everyone in the group knows how to perform it, and the five are also the inventors of it._

_The imperial eagle and the panther charge towards the wolverines at full speed, then briefly disappear and at last they appear behind the wolverines five seconds later – after that, the wolverines all fall to the ground. Too fast? Well, here's a replay – in slow motion._

* * *

><p><em>After starting the technique, Jufeng and Fengbao dashed towards group of wolverines as they charged them too. Since they moved far faster than them, the two Ninjas were able to see their aggressive faces change to some that looked more surprised, much to Jufeng's amusement.<em>

_The two ninjas jumped forwards, soared through the air for a few milliseconds before attacking the first few wolverines with their powerful wood katanas. Jufeng took on the ones on the right side. He slashed left and right and made a few spins, and so did Fengbao. The surrounding Masters are barely able to see the ninjas' movements and attack, and it almost looks like it's uncontrolled, but in slow-motion, it's very clear that they have been practicing for years and weren't in any danger of hitting one another. It was like their minds were linked and they knew exactly what the other would do – therefore they avoided hurting each other with their wild slashes._

* * *

><p><em>Weifeng has chosen to fight with the Extreme Eight, even though it's their first meeting. Even though her membership is temporary, she makes the name make sense again, since Jissai still isn't present.<em>

_Weifeng has put her sword back into the sheath on her back and is fighting as a temporary member of the Extreme Eight, now using her Kung Fu skills rather than her ninja techniques._

_Fighting alongside Changchang, Weifeng uses her ninja agility along with her sharp Deer Kung Fu moves. Changchang and Weifeng haven't had any interaction until now, but it's like their minds are connected – like they've known each other for years – because they time their kicks and punches just right, so that they either hit the same wolverines in the same spots, or knock out a wolverine that the other has intimidated with her moves._

_Nearby Ai, due to being an otter, uses her unique ability to make full body tackles against the wolverines' legs, thanks to her slippy fur. Meanwhile Mei Feng uses her natural speed and agility to perform fast and precise punches and kicks. The red fox has always been somewhat of a perfectionist and finally it's paying off. She has an easy time defeating the wolverines as they don't have the least bit of experience with Kung Fu._

_Lihua and Daiyu fight against the vultures that have just recently joined in on the fight. They had come from the sky and had added a big number to Zhu's army. Daiyu used her powerful feet to hold onto Lihua as she carries the both of them into the sky. As the first few vultures attack, Lihua grabs Daiyu's feet and swing herself towards the nearest of one._

_She hits him in the chest with a kick, and as he starts to fall downwards, she jumps off, thus knocking him further down. She grabs the next vulture by the leg and with one powerful yank she's somehow able to swing him towards one of his teammates and the two birds collide._

_Daiyu fights off the vultures by using her Kung Fu moves while airborne. Due to being a bat, she is better at gliding and staying airborne compared to the vultures, since they are held up by feathers instead of leathery membrane like Daiyu._

_Just as she performs a spin-kick midair, she sees that Lihua is falling after making two vultures collide. She hurries over and catches her comrade by her arms and soon the two are at it again. They are joined by other aerial Masters, a stork and a dragonfly._

_The dragonfly has an easy time staying airborne and fighting, since his wings move incredibly fast, and he has six limbs to attack with. His name is Pingbi Deleike, a Master of Kung Fu from the swamp areas to the east. He has had a few struggles with Qi and Ye some years ago because they came to his village to solve a case. He had been determined to solve it himself, and had had a rivalry with them since then. But now everyone's help was needed, so who cared about pride and rivalry?_

_The stork on the other hand is called Bai Yi, a famous doctor whose special is Chi energy and acupuncture for his healing. He simply adds this to his Kung Fu, since he knows where to hit an opponent to either paralyze them or cause them great stress in their muscles, or even cause them great pain. He is just as skinny as Master Crane, though much older._

_The stork attacks the vultures and with his long, thin legs he doesn't need to be too close to them in order to attack, so at that point he has the advantage. The disadvantage he has is that he isn't as physically strong as the vultures, and therefore has to rely more on his skills._

_As Pingbi attacks at high speed to intimidate the vultures, Bai Yi follows short after and hits the vultures with kicks in the right places – where the right nerves are located under their skin and feathers. The points he hits cause the vultures' necks to ache and tense up incredibly to the point where it's almost unbearable. Lihua and Daiyu use this chance to knock them to the ground far below them._

_Meanwhile Baozhai and Fang take the fight to the next level by plowing through the wolverines with powerful punches, thus knocking them aside if they get in the way. The raw strength of the two felines is almost too much for the wolverines, and they quickly knock a whole bunch out._

_As one of the wolverines try to grab Fang by the throat a blur of reddish and white fur and brown robes knock the wolverine aside with a wooden staff: Shifu. The little red panda pulls his hands up, bringing them down beside his left hip. Then he brings his arms forwards, and soon the wolverine is knocked backwards by a powerful gust of wind._

_Fang sees her chance to strike, jumps forwards and knocks the wolverine out with a powerful punch to the face. She quickly thanks Shifu as he continues on with the fighting._

_A little behind the Extreme eight is Biyu, fighting off vultures as they strike down towards the battlefield. There isn't much she can do from the ground, but luckily her Chi techniques can hit the vultures and once in a while knock them to the ground. As one of the special people who possess the talent, she performs the Thundering Wind Hammer with ease, even though it's one of the Seven Impossible Moves. She turns around herself in a circle once – most other people, even very experienced people, need to rotate far more times in order to collect enough Chi energy to perform the move, but as Biyu was one of the first people to master the technique, she doesn't need to do it more than once. When she's facing the vultures again, she brings her small hands forwards and releases a blue ball of energy._

_The vulture that is hit by it is knocked backwards through the air and almost hits one of his teammates. Just as the technique finally vanishes and he regains balance, Daiyu dashes by and on top of her is Lihua who slashes the vulture in the face with her powerful claws, giving off an angry 'meow' like the cat she is._

_Suddenly a vulture dives down towards Biyu. She tries to perform the move again, but ultimately fails to hit her target. But just before the powerful talons can impale the old Master, someone jumps over Biyu's, lands in front of her and plants a powerful punch in the vultures head, literally knocking him to the ground._

_"No one kills my Master," Mei Ling says and quickly flicks the hand she hit the vulture with before turning to Biyu with a little smile. She then returns to the western side of the field to assist Wangzi as he has, for whatever reason, lost his dagger in the middle of the fight and is up against seven wolverines._

…

The Frontline Half an Hour Ago

…

I knew it. I just _knew_ it. Knew that what we were doing now was our fate. It was hard to believe that I had gone through so much just to end up in front of three thousand (Minus a few) people as the one to lead them into war. I could barely believe the incredible feeling of epicness come over me as I charged into battle as the Millennium Warrior – not That Wanted Pirate.

I knew I would still have to confront my dad sooner or later about the treasure, but now I had to finish what I had started. I turned my head as I ran to look at Po and the Five. I ran in the middle, and to my right was Tigress and Crane, while I had Po, Viper, Mantis and Monkey to my left (Mantis rode on Monkey's shoulder).

The living wall of wolverines came closer and closer and I knew that this might be the last time I saw any of my friends. _Friends_… That word still felt weird to use about these six people. When we first met they had had a very hard time getting along and now… well, I knew that life wouldn't be the same without them.

As I ran, I put my sword up to my head, held it with my mouth by the wooden blade and then found the Shift Jade under my vest and attached it to the blue scroll in my left hand and changed it to another wooden sword, in order to make it easier to carry and hold onto... and defende myself with of course. The nearest wolverine soon came into range and I blocked his wooden club with my original sword in my right hand as he tried to hit me with it.

Soon enough, all the Masters also collided with the living wall of soldiers and the real war started. Po, the Furious Five and I stuck close together on the battle field as the Masters behind us basically split into an east and a vest section. Most of the Masters ran up in front of us in order to fight off the wolverines further away on the battlefield.

I swung both swords and hit a wolverine in the head with them both. It easily knocked him out, and I remembered that the Shift Jade only made the object change shape, but not consistence, so I basically had a wooden sword that was made out of metal.

I then blocked two wooden clubs from two wolverines with both my swords and kicked a third in the stomach area. I quickly withdrew my swords and slashed them in an X-formation, so that I hit both wolverines in their heads. I then turned my swords in my hands, so that the blade pointed backwards, so that it almost made it look like I had the same kind of arms as Mantis. I then went back to slashing more wolverines as they attacked me in this new way I had never tried before.

I jumped forwards and made a circle motion-slash with my sword and slashed a wolverine in the chest with it. As another wolverine tried to attack me with his wooden club, I blocked it, and bowed down, stretched my arm and slashed in a circle around myself, sweeping the legs of several wolverines away.

After knocking a lot more wolverines out, I quickly looked into the sky to see that an army of vultures had joined Zhu's side and had started to strike down on the Masters who weren't capable of flight. But luckily some airborne Masters, including Crane, had taken up the fight against the wolverines.

I looked to my right and saw that Tigress fought very close to me. On my left, Po also fought very close to me, and the three of us gradually made our way through the battlefield.

I jumped aside as a bunch of vultures dived down and tried to attack me with their powerful talons. I made a roll and quickly got to my feet. I looked over at Tigress and saw that she had problems with the vultures as well. I ran towards her and told her to catch me. I jumped into the air and landed in her strong arms. She didn't get my idea though, since she held me like a baby or something for a few seconds. Tigress looked very confused and somewhat embarrassed actually.

Suddenly I saw the vultures fly high into the air and prepare for an attack again. I pointed at them with my right sword and said: "What are you waiting for? Throw me!"

"What?" she asked surprised as she held me in her arms. It was starting to get somewhat awkward and some of the nearby Masters _did_ stare quite a bit. "Are you crazy?"

I sighed in annoyance. She should know by now that I do things _my_ way and 'my way' often involves crazy ideas that can fatally injure either myself or the people around me. I then got an idea. "Aw, so the little _kitty_ doesn't…?"

Before I could even finish my teasing sentence, she threw me with all her power towards the vultures. I was thrown at so high speed that it kind of scared me, and I wrote a mental note about being cautious about what I call Tigress and when. There was so much power into the throw that I was almost flying upwards, and as the vultures dived towards me, I pulled up both my legs. As I got closer and closer, I tightened all the muscles in my legs and prepared for a kick.

Finally I got into reach and let my right leg spring forwards and planted a solid kick in the one vulture's chest area, knocking him out of flight. He started falling towards the ground and so did I. On the way down, the two other vultures that had tried to attack followed me and tried to attack, but as I fell, I used my swords to fight them off. Suddenly the ground was very close and I could tell that the vultures started to spread out their wings to turn around, but suddenly two dashes of feathers hit them. I saw Jufeng and Feng as the two ninjas wrestled the two vultures even while airborne, but suddenly I was literally ripped out of the air.

"That makes three times," Shunfeng said, his hand still on my shoulder when we stood on the ground again a second later. "I'd say you owe me some soon!"

"Yeah," I said with a little smile, feeling relieved at the fact that he had saved me once again. He smiled back at me, but soon disappeared in a dash of fur and dust. I turned around and faced another bunch of wolverines.

I used my swords to block two clubs, then swung them downwards, making their clubs follow, and finally turned around in a circle and hit both wolverines in the head with me swords. The next wolverine tried to attack and I jumped forwards and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him backwards. I then gave him a similar slash and then an elbow in the face to finish him off.

After knocking a few more wolverines out by hitting them in the head with my swords, I saw Tigress stand a little away. I quickly asked: "That before… can you wait till later before you kill me?"

"Hmm," was all she said, but she still smiled one of her faint smiles, so she probably didn't have intentions on killing me anyways – at least not that painfully. I then turned around and was about to continue, but a wolverine tried to tackle me. I was about to attack him with my swords, but he was knocked sideways as Po came into the scene with a jump kick.

"Thanks man," I said. Then a wolverine tried to attack him and I jumped forwards and slashed. Po just barely managed to jump aside as my sword hit the wolverine in the head – if he hadn't, he would have been hit himself.

I then charged forwards and Po and Tigress followed close by. I slashed the nearest wolverine across the chest with the sword in my right hand and then did a double-slash with both swords, slashing from the left downwards to the right. I then kicked him back, and kicked the next wolverine in the chest as he tried to attack me too. I then hit his hand with my swords, causing him to lose his wooden club. I was about to attack again, but suddenly something hit the wolverines in front of us – something feathery.

"A close call, huh?" Crane asked with a smile. He was joined by a falcon and a flying squirrel of some sort. I didn't know who they were, but they obviously knew me, since they looked at me with a mixture of respect and a look that asked "Is it seriously him who's the leader of all this?" but I guess you can't blame them for that.

The Crane and the two other Masters quickly took off again (The flying squirrel needed to get into the air by being carried by the falcon guy) and the three of us stood back and watched the battle around us for a few seconds.

I looked up ahead and realized that I had to get into the palace and finish Zhu off myself… but I needed to get there first. I told them about my plan and soon we charged through the battle field. I quickly spotted Monkey and Viper who fought alongside Mantis in the crowd of warriors.

We all hurried over to them. As we ran towards them, I saw Monkey do some absolutely crazy looking kicks and punches. He was somehow able to 'stand' on his tail and kick with his flexible legs, and even somewhat use his tail as a whip.

"Monkey!" I didn't know why, but I wanted to see him fight with my sword in an open combat like this, and threw my original sword to him. He caught it by his left foot and then made a spin kick where he slashed them with the sword, using his foot. But that wasn't enough; during the spin kick, he was able to let go of it, catch it with his right foot, and deliver another slash. He did so a few times, and also used it as I would have, knocking a whole bunch of wolverines to the ground.

Soon Monkey went back to his own fighting, and we saw that Mantis and Viper were fighting a little longer up front. The two Masters were tiny compared to the wolverines, but it still looked like the two were the ones with the unfair advantage.

Viper gracefully avoided nearly every single punch and wooden club that came towards her, and she returned the favor by attacking with powerful slashes with her long tail or rather lower part of her body. Mantis also had an easy time avoiding the wolverines' attacks and due to his size, they seemingly had a hard time hitting him. And in spite of his little insect body and the contrast in size, it looked like he had an easy time knocking them out too.

"I need to get to the palace," I told Tigress and Po. "I have to finish Zhu off myself."

"Is that really the only way?" Po asked, seemingly feeling slightly uncomfortable about the thought of me killing Zhu. Well, I did have a certain problem about killing people, but I kind of thought that Zhu deserved it… he had tried to kill numerous other people just because of the art they practiced… plus he was nothing but a spoiled boy's parody of an emperor.

"Seemingly it is," Tigress said and jumped backwards as a wolverine tried to attack her with a tackle. As she stepped aside, she jumped into the air and planted a spin kick in the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. A group of fifteen wolverines or so followed closely behind, and I realized that it would be pretty hard to get to the palace in one piece.

I then got an idea. I saw Jufeng fight off some vultures a little away, and started running towards him. On the way I had to avoid getting hit by both vultures, wolverines and Kung Fu Masters, and also had to avoid getting stomped to death by some of the larger Masters.

"Jufeng!" I called out and got the eagle's attention. He turned his head towards me, kicked a vulture in the head and got hit by another vulture's talons in his back. I ran towards him to help and saw a rat Master fight a wolverine a little up ahead. The wolverine stood with his back towards me, so I ran towards him and jumped. I landed on his shoulders and then jumped further upwards towards Jufeng and the vulture in the air.

Then I hurled the sword in my left hand at the vulture. The wooden sword hit him right in the face with a metallic 'Clank!' and soon he fell to the ground, knocked out (It was the fake sword that was still made of metal, remember?).

"Jufeng, I need you to give me a ride to the palace," I said. The reason why I asked Jufeng was because I knew he was very fast at flying and whatever else he could do. Plus, he was one of the few Masters who were capable of flight, who would still be able to carry me.

"Okay, but should we just leave without even fighting?" he asked, obviously a little honorable. I sighed and then told him to just fly close to the ground. He obviously got my idea and eventually told me to get on his back.

Soon the imperial eagle raced towards the palace with me standing on his back. I was amazed at how he was able to fly this fast, and seemingly at the same height all the way, even with me on his back. On the way, of course, I used my two swords to hit various wolverines in the head. The Masters on the battlefield tried their best to dodge, which they did pretty well, even though Jufeng was darting forwards at full speed.

I swung my sword once again and knocked out another wolverine. If we just kept going like this, we'd knock out a pretty big part of the wolverine army. I had already managed to make a long trail of knocked out wolverines on our way, and finally we reached the palace.

Jufeng flew higher into the air and put me down behind the palace's wall. He drew in a few quick, rapid breaths before I said: "Thanks, I really appreciate your help."

"Anytime," the eagle said with a smile. "Whew, I better get back to work."

I nodded and watched him take off. Alright, now all I had to do was find Zhu.

* * *

><p>If you've reached the end of this chapter, I give you a virtual cookie. This was one long chapter to write and editing it almost made me crazy - it took me four or five hours! Anyways, this was probably my favorite chapter to write this far, and I really hope you like it! Thanks to my followers for your support! ^^<p> 


	21. The Final Battle?

Me: "Hey there dear readers! If you're listening to this, that means that you managed to get through chapter twenty ... - congratulations!"

Hai: "What do you mean listen? This is a written monolog you moron."

Me: "Whatever, they get the idea. So anyways, I wanted to say that I've decided to stop the thing about weekly updates and just update whenever I feel like it. Also, I just wanted to warn you a little about this chapter..."

Hai: "... because another moron appears."

Me: "... because it contains spoilers and teases that indicate a sequel. And you should just keep your mouth shut; I decide whether you live or die."

Hai: "Like you would ever make me die; I'm your most popular character at the moment."

Me: *sigh* "True... Oh well, this chapter also ends on a massive cliffhanger. Do you know why?"

Hai and me in unison: "BECAUSE WE CAN!"

Me: "Anyways, enjoy!"

* * *

><p><em>I hate sequels. They're never as good as the first book.<em>

**Connie Willis**

* * *

><p>I made my way past various small building within the palace's walls. Seemingly they were barracks for some of the soldiers – and by 'some' I mean that if all those soldiers were to stay here, they'd need more space than the city itself granted. I was pretty sure that all the guards at the palace had joined the fight on the battlefield, so I didn't even bother sneaking all the way up to the palace's front door. I opened it and casually walked inside. The hallway I came into somewhat looked like the Hall of Warriors back in Jade Palace, even though that was pretty much destroyed now. I continued forwards, trying to figure out where to start my search for that coward Zhu.<p>

I walked a little around the hall to see what there was to look at. It did seem to be just like the Hall of Warriors, except the fact that it was all about the Mao family. It seemed to be portraits of the entire family line and also some additional belongings, mostly weapons.

I eventually got through all the portraits, but suddenly I saw a picture lying on the floor behind a crate. I walked over and picked it up. It seemed to have been ripped apart somehow, and I quickly found the four biggest pieces of the picture and put them together.

The picture was far from complete, but I could somewhat see a middle-aged leopard who was wearing some very formal clothes, obviously another emperor. I was partly able to see two other family members on the picture as well, but the family member on the bottom left shocked me the most. The leopard was very young, but there was no mistaking it; it was Qiu. The only part of him that was intact on the picture was his face, but even at such a young age, I could clearly see that it was him.

I clenched my fist and remembered that Zhu had killed Qiu's father. If I could do it right, I could also pay back for that. I folded the painting and hid it under my vest, so that I could give it to Qiu later… if any of us got out alive.

I continued through the hallway and eventually came to another; the same hallway I had been in before. I knew which door led to the library and that would most likely not be the place to find Zhu. Instead I chose the old throne room, in which I had found my sword.

I opened the door and was about to walk inside, but suddenly I saw that it had been 'shined up'. Zhu had probably expected to win the war and that Qiu would be killed, so now he probably wanted to act like a real emperor with a clean and shiny throne room. But there were also wolverines in there. I had thought that all wolverines were out in the war, but obviously not, and before I could do anything, they noticed me.

I quickly closed the door and started running towards the room with the staircase, since I knew I would be able to lose them in there. As I ran, I could hear them bust the door open and follow me. They were around fifteen or something, and hopefully there weren't any more guards in the room – though with my luck there would be.

I finally came to the first staircase, but to my bad luck, wolverine guards came down from the upper floor and towards me. How had they been able to warn each other about my presence? Maybe it was another scroll's power they had abused to do so, who knows?

I stopped and was started to run in another direction, but was cut off by the wolverines from before. I brought up both my swords and was ready to fight, but suddenly something really, really weird happened. I've seen lots of weird stuff, so believe me when I say this: I heard Guqin Harp-music playing.

I stopped and looked around trying to find the source of the music and so did the wolverines. Whoever played sounded like he or she was very experienced, but who it was or where this person was, I didn't know. Suddenly one of the doors on the upper floor – one of those that led outside – was opened. But no one was there, so had it opened by itself? I didn't know.

Suddenly I felt a very unnatural breeze start blowing through the room, while the sound of the Guqin started playing a bit louder, and I kind of expected the player to come in through the door, but instead several small, bright pink cherry petals started soaring inside. It seemed that they were carried by the unnatural wind. Suddenly there were many petals – like a hundred or something – hovering around inside the room near the top of the staircase. Suddenly the music started playing a little faster and the wind started blowing more powerful.

Just as I was the most confused, the cherry petals started swirling around in circles, creating a bright pink tornado. The petals started spinning faster and faster and suddenly the music sounded somewhat different... as if the player had moved from where he or she was before. I looked up at the tornado of cherry petals in awe. It looked quite amazing and it also made me somewhat sentimental inside for some reason. Suddenly the petals were all blown away by a new wind, and an unknown person appeared.

He was a… dragon? Yes, a dragon! Like the ones you see on rooftops, poems and paintings. He sat in a cross-legged position, playing the Guqin and he had light red scales all over and the scales on his underside – front of his neck, underside of his muzzle and down – were plain white. His eyes were a clear, venomous green and he had long black hair, and two long locks of black beard, as well as a small goatee. He also had a long tail and a pair of rather deer like horns, though they were pretty dull around the edges.

His outfit was very special; it was a Kung Fu Jacket, which was black on the right side and white on the left with pink trims, just like the petals from before. His pants were black just like mine, though they seemed to be of a different fabric.

I was awestruck, not going to lie. I had never seen a dragon before and I had always thought that they were pure fiction and creatures that only belonged in folklores and myths, but he seemed real enough.

He kept playing for a few seconds before ending the song with one long, slow stroke on the strings. None of us – wolverines, him and me – said anything after he stopped playing. He got to his feet and to my surprise he just threw the Guqin aside, out of the door, like it was a piece of trash. I couldn't hear it land outside, but I was sure it broke.

"Who are you?" one of the wolverines growled at him.

Instead of answering right away, he brought his hand upwards, and pointed two fingers towards the ceiling. He then looked up in the direction of his finger and all of us followed suit, but there was nothing to see. Then he said: "Master Yishu said this: an identity does not come with a name; it depends on who you truly are."

"What's with that nonsense?" another wolverine growled. "Why are you even interfering?"

"_You_, my gentlemen, are the ones interfering," he said and looked back at the wolverines and me. Suddenly he pointed at me. "You are interfering with his destiny."

Suddenly one of the wolverines charged up the staircase to attack the dragon. The dragon took in a deep breath and spread his arms to the sides as if he was about to fly or something. Suddenly it started raining with pink cherry petals, but when I looked up, they seemed to come from nowhere.

As soon as the first wolverine got to the dragon, he tried to attack him with his wooden club, but as soon as the club was centimeters away from the dragon's head, he blocked it with his hand in one lighting fast motion. Next thing the wolverine knew, the dragon punched him in the stomach. It was covered by armor, but it still seemed to have hurt him greatly. A second later, the dragon pushed the wolverine, so that he fell down the staircase and he landed in front of his comrades.

"Who do you think you are?" another wolverine growled after seeing his comrade become beaten up by the dragon. I just stood there and didn't quite know what to do with myself, but I was a little shocked when one of the wolverines hurled his club at the dragon. It hit him right in the forehead with a loud sound, but he didn't seem to have taken any damage at all.

"What the…?" the wolverine said, seemingly very confused. I couldn't blame him for that; I was pretty lost as well, and this guy should have at least fainted from such an attack, but he seemed to be perfectly fine.

"You cannot destroy me," the dragon spoke in his slow and calm voice. "Because: I am the world… and as long as the world exists… so will I!"

I kind thought that he was over dramatizing it a little bit; it wasn't even epic, just dramatic. Suddenly all the wolverines seemed to forget about me, and they all charged him with their wooden clubs raised above their heads.

The first wolverine tried to hit him in the face with his wooden club, but the dragon simply stepped aside and gave the wolverine an elbow to the back of his head, knocking him backwards.

He then brought up his right fist and clenched it and pointed at the wolverines with the index finger on his left hand, "Bow… before my fist."

Suddenly all the other wolverines charged him at the same time. He dodged one's wooden club, then a kick from another and suddenly he jumped into the air, made a spin kick and nailed one of them to the ground. He then punched another wolverine in the face and spun around and hit two other wolverines with a kick to their faces.

Suddenly he jumped into the air – and stayed there! He was levitating one meter or so above the ground and started delivering rapid kicks to the wolverines in their faces and also a punch once in a while. He ended up knocking out seven wolverines or so in the process. Then to my big surprise he opened his mouth, and hey, guess what came out… yup, fire! To be more accurate, pink fire! The wolverines all tried to jump aside and they managed to dodge pretty well, even though some of them got a little flamed.

The dragon then landed on the ground again, looking very casual with his arms behind his back as if this whole fight was just a game of chess. He jumped into the air again as another wolverine tried to tackle him. He made a backflip and hit the wolverine in the face with his right foot in the process, knocking him out. Just before he landed, he planted a kick into another wolverine's chest on the way around.

He finally landed back on his feet and then blocked another wooden club with his fist. I was still very amazed at how fast and smooth, yet powerful his movements were.

The dragon then pushed the club backwards, eventually making it contact with its owners face. He then dodged another one and kicked the attacking wolverine in the stomach. The rest of the guards formed a circle around the dragon, but he kept his cool and calm attitude. To my surprise he jumped into the air and performed the craziest spin kick I had ever seen; he literally hit all of the wolverines in the head with one single kick!

Then the dragon landed back on his feet again. He didn't even seem to be exhausted in the least, but before I could thank him, he was surrounded by a whirlwind of cherry petals again. I quickly ran up the staircase to talk to him, but as soon as I got up to him, the petals fell to the ground and he was gone.

I stood there for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Okay, so a dragon had somehow appeared and saved me from these wolverines, right? That was not weird at all… right? A sudden breeze blew by and swept the cherry petals outside and I just stood back there alone. No dragon, no nothing – only knocked out wolverines.

* * *

><p>Still very confused, I reentered the old throne room and found Zhu and Zhan. The two seemed to talk about the preparing for becoming the official emperor and Zhu walked around like another spoiled kid, talking about what he wanted.<p>

"Sorry to say," I started as I walked inside. "But it ends here Zhu."

Zhu and Zhan looked equally surprised to see me. They had probably not even noticed what happened before, and they had most likely expected me to get killed in the war. Come on, I have survived a lot of things, so did they seriously think a little war would be enough to kill me? Ha!

"How'd you get out of that big dogfight?" Zhu yelped surprised when he saw me.

"A little of this, a little of that… got help from a ninja… nothing special," I chuckled in a somewhat sarcastic tone. I then noticed something in the room; fireworks. Maybe those could come in handy later. "But before we start, can you please tell me why you wanted to kill so many people for no reason at all?"

"Hmm... if you're going to die, I might as well tell you," Zhu said, sounding very sure of himself. "You see, as I grew up…" There should really be a flashback right here, but since this is only a written story, I can't really show you. "… I tried to Master that cursed art. I… got humiliated… in front of my friends, my father and the entire city!"

"Ooh, really? If just I could have seen…"

"AND, do you know who did that to me?" Zhu interrupted my rapid mouth with an angry growl. He then threw something at me. I just barely managed to shift the sword in my right hand into my left hand and just barely managed to catch the object. It was a scroll of some sort, though it looked like an ordinary scroll, so obviously it wasn't a magical scroll.

I made a flick with my hand and eventually made the scroll unfold. It was actually a picture of the leopard from before – Qiu's dad. Really, that was why he wanted to become the emperor? But he had already killed Qiu's father; Zhan had said so himself! So wasn't that enough? Did he really have to do so much more?

Then, for some unknown reason, I started laughing. I knew the two were staring at me and that it wasn't a good moment to be laughing, but I just couldn't help it – I was barely able to hold onto my swords! You're probably also wondering why I could bring myself to laugh in a moment like this, well here's why: "You're… not an emperor…" I laughed a little more. "You're nothing but a spoiled kid!"

Zhu angrily ordered for Zhan to kill me. He charged me and I just kept laughing uncontrolled. He tried to slash me with his sword and I did my best to dodge, still laughing.

I finally regained control and stopped laughing, but suddenly Zhan's hand grabbed me by my throat. Before I could do anything, I was smashed against one of the pillars in the room. It hurt me greatly and I was very close to passing out… but luckily I didn't. Zhan held me up by my throat and my feet just barely touched the ground.

Before I suffocated – or before Zhan decapitated me – I brought up my right leg and kicked him in the stomach. It made him let go of me and I landed on the floor along with his sword. I took my own sword – the real one – into my right hand once again and charged Zhan.

I hit his hand with my one sword, then slashed him across the face with the other. Next thing he knew, I slashed his entire torso with the sword in my left hand, the fake one. It seemed to have caused him great pain, and I just continued. I jumped into the air and hit him on the side of his head with a kick. When I landed I threw both swords into the air, the one in my right higher than the other. I eventually grabbed the fake sword with my left hand, and before Zhan could kill me, I smashed it against his head with a very loud, bone chilling sound. It sounded like I had completely broken his skull or something and I grimaced a little at the thought.

I stepped away from the knocked out Zhan and walked towards Zhu. The white fox seemed to be panicking a little. Suddenly he grabbed a scroll of some sort. It seemed to be another magic scroll and he ran towards a humongous pile of fireworks. I quickly followed, but suddenly I saw him open the scroll, softly slide his finger across the metallic fabric and point it towards the fireworks. There was the Chinese character for fire on the scroll, and maybe it was just me, but the symbol actually seemed to be made of fire somehow.

"If you kill me, I'll at least be able to take you with me." I stopped, which was exactly what he had obviously wanted me to do. Suddenly, in one quick motion, he picked up a rocket, let it slide across the scroll's surface and hurled it towards me. Luckily I have this special ability that allows me to, uncontrolled, make time go slower. It happened just this moment now and I managed to knock the rocket aside. Unfortunately I hadn't checked my surroundings and hurled it right against one of the pillars right next to me.

The rocket exploded with a loud noise as soon as it hit the stone pillar and suddenly pieces of rock and dust flew everywhere, as well as fire in various colors. I fell backwards and landed heavily on my back. A part of the stone pillar had hit me in the head and I could barely move my body; even the soft dust particles that hit my forehead seemed to feel like punches.

"Not so tough huh?" Zhu asked with an evil snicker. My hand was very shaky and could barely move as I reached out for my one sword. I managed to grab it by the handle, hoping that it was the fake one. No, it wasn't – this one had been set on fire because of the explosion. At least I could throw it at Zhu.

The throw was pretty pathetic and the fox had no trouble avoiding the hit. It landed behind him, but maybe that wasn't so bad again. I got to my feet and grabbed the fake sword and was about to use it, but…

"No, not so fast, pirate." Zhu stepped on the sword's wooden-looking blade and kept it down. I was simply so exhausted and weak that I could even lift it off the ground. No… It couldn't be right. But my body felt completely lax and my vision was starting to fail. I came to realize it; I was going to die here in a matter of seconds.


	22. So Did I Die?

Okay... so I uploaded a chapter with major spoilers yesterday... a new character and so much more... why does it look like everyone ignored it when I look at the reviewing area? lol

Come on guys! I made a new character! You're supposed to go "OMFG, I love this new character! When will we see more of him?" or "What the...? That's so stupid! Timbit, you're doing it wrong! *Angry Face*!"

Nah, whatever, I'd just like you guys' feedback on him, since he'll be some of the main focus for the next story... :)

* * *

><p><em>A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.<em>

**Martin Luther King, Jr.**

* * *

><p>I couldn't believe it; I was so close to finish the job! I was all alone with Zhu in a one-to-one combat! And I couldn't even defeat this idiot of a spoiled kid! Then a voice in the back of my head screamed: No, it isn't going to end here!<p>

My real sword, which was set on fire, was what made me believe that there was a way to win. My vision was still failing me, but suddenly I felt a familiar strength bloom inside me. I didn't know where the strength came from, but I would use it to defeat Zhu.

I pulled back my sword from under Zhu's foot and tried to slash him in the face. He unfortunately caught the wooden-looking blade, but that was when he also noticed the hissing sound. His ears flickered a little and he eventually turned his head to see it.

The burning sword had fallen into the pile of fireworks and many of the fuses had gotten lit. Zhu looked back at me with a very shocked face. Obviously he hadn't thought about that. The rockets started flying all around the throne-room and they occasionally hit either the ceiling or the stone pillars in the room.

I kicked Zhu in the stomach and withdrew my sword. My vision was still failing me, but it was as if my vision wasn't even necessary in this case – like I was able to see without my eyes, maybe rather with my other senses – smelling and hearing. I slashed Zhu across the face with the fake sword, smashed him in the chest with the narrow side of the blade and then I used the strength from within to push Zhu backwards towards the pile of fireworks. Many rockets had taken off and exploded by now, but the pile was still pretty big. I knew that this was pure suicide from my point of the situation, but if it could also finish off Zhu, I'd be more than delighted to do it.

On the way countless thoughts rushed through my mind. I'd never get to become a grownup and get old and weak; never get to do something big… wait, wasn't that what I was doing now? Anyhow, I'd never be able to see my friends and all the people who had helped me, ever again. Also, I'd never be able to find out what the greatest treasure in the world was. Also, I'd never be able to show Po that one panda village, even though what had happened in that village was a very long time ago... at least it felt like that.

As soon as we landed in the pile of fireworks, the last rockets went off. There were also some big crates with gunpowder and other stuff, so obviously Zhu had had it newly made, just for this occasion. But now they only helped with causing a powerful explosion. The heat swallowed us up and so did the light. All I could hear was Zhu cursing me and all I could see was... nothing.

Suddenly I felt like that dragon guy from before – completely peaceful. The sound disappeared and all I heard was myself saying: "This is it."

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes and... wait, I opened my eyes? Wasn't I dead? I quickly looked around. I wasn't in the throne-room anymore, but in some kind of... emptiness. It looked like the sky; I was surrounded by blue and there were clouds here and there… but it was still somewhat different - where did the light come from? I was hovering around among clouds and bright light, like another bird in the sky... but I had no control over it. I felt completely weightless like a feather or something, and either I moved around fast or the wind made the clouds blow by fast.<p>

"Hai..." I turned my head to the right. At first there was really nothing at all, just clouds. Then I noticed that the clouds in front of me started parting. Suddenly a person I didn't know came into sight.

He was a tortoise of some sort, but not like any I had seen before, especially when it came to size – he was at least two heads taller than me. I suddenly started moving towards him, even though it wasn't controlled at all. As I got closer, I was able to see more of his details in the bright light. He was covered in light green scales all over, and had some even brighter ones around his mouth and they ran down his underside. He had long claws on his fingers and his torso was entirely covered by an armory shell. It had a light brown color on his underside, and on his back it had a darker brown, similar to the bark on a tree.

"Who are you?" I asked carefully. I was kind of afraid that he might be like the Emperor of Heaven or something and was here to say that I needed some kind of punishment for being a pirate.

"I am Master Oogway," the old tortoise replied. He talked in a somewhat slow and calm voice, giving me the feel of what a cross between Tigress and Shifu would be like.

"What is this?" I asked and looked around. It was pretty obvious that I was dead, but I couldn't keep myself from asking.

"Who knows?" the old tortoise replied, surprising me greatly. Was he saying that he didn't know where we were? I would have thought that he had been here far longer than I had. "Some people call it heaven."

"Heaven?" I repeated in a mutter. "So I _am_ dead…"

"Nonetheless," Oogway started, just before clearing his throat. "We have been watching you all through the Millennium War. You are truly remarkable for a pirate."

"We?" I asked. Suddenly someone else appeared next to him. He was a rhino, standing even taller than Oogway. He had dark gray skin, a long pointy horn and was just overall big and muscular-looking. He wore some white robes with black trims and also a brownish robe around his waist.

"A warrior must be strong," the rhino told me with a somewhat stern, yet determined and teacher-like look and voice. "Not only physically strong, but also mentally; you have proven to be so, even through your pirate-nature."

"Well… thanks," I replied and smiled a little at him. Suddenly a buffalo of some sort appeared. He looked very similar to Storming Ox , even his outfit. His outfit was very similar to Storming Ox's, and there was actually not really that much difference between the two's outfits.

"As true as that is said," the buffalo said to the rhino. He then turned to me. "As Thundering Rhino said, you have proven to be very headstrong. Aside from that, your personality has seemingly changed."

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head a little forward and looked at the buffalo with a very doubtful look. It eventually made him, mysteriously, clear his throat and look a little downwards.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked at my shoulder to see a hand covered in sand-colored fur. I looked upwards to see a middle-aged leopard stand behind me. He had a kind-looking face and wore some very formal robes, mainly white with golden trims. All of his fur was sand-colored, light brown with black spots and he had striking orange eyes – just like Qiu.

"And you were brave enough to take my son's place and get to the palace," the leopard told me with a smile. So he _was_ Qiu's father! "I couldn't have done that acting any better myself."

He patted me a few times on the shoulder. "That's for saving Shan City."

Suddenly he hit me in the back of my head. "Hey, what was that for?"

"_That_ was for blowing up our palace," the leopard growled at me. I just shrugged and rubbed the back of my head. Not really because it had been painful, but because of the awkwardness of the moment.

"Wait, so you've all actually been watching me all along?" I asked surprised when I realized what he had just said to me earlier. If they had, they must have been really bored in order to do so, since I'm me. Maybe they even found the jail-experience with Fenghuang funny – I know I did.

"Certainly we have," Oogway replied with a very slow nod. "To spend the eternity here… it gets boring quickly."

The other Masters nodded at his comment. And soon more people arrived. First was Master Tiankong, the former Master of the Storm Clan, and his wife Lady Sora. Tiankong was about one meter in height, but still looking pretty muscular. He was surprisingly some kind of eagle. He was covered in mainly pale white feathers, but the ones on his wings were more of a light black or a dark gray. His beak was short, yet pretty sharp-looking and he had dark brown eyes. And to top it off, he wore some brown robes, just like the Storm Clan.

Lady Sora on the other hand was a cat of some sort. She looked pretty much like Qiu's father, who was named Daopian by the way, but she was much shorter and skinnier built, so I figured that she wasn't a leopard. Her fur was also much fluffier. Her outfit was a formal and elegant red dress with white cloud motifs. It was very hard to believe that she would have been one to teach the Storm Clan their ninja techniques, but I assumed that it was best to keep my mouth shut – I didn't want to double-die.

"The Millennium Warrior is truly amazing," Lady Sora giggled to her husband. "I guess you lost a bet… Watashi wa migada?"

"Uh… yes, it looks like you _were _right, my dear," Tiankong admitted to his wife, sounding rather embarrassed. Great, they had even been _betting_ on whether I was good enough to be the Millennium Warrior or not… What would be next? Betting on whether I would…? Suddenly I saw many more people appear around me. Obviously most, if not all of them were Kung Fu Masters, which I could tell from their outfits.

"You have impressed all of us, Hai," Oogway told me. I looked back at the old tortoise to see that he was smiling at me. "You have performed one of the most important deeds in Kung Fu: dedication."

"I don't know if you could call it dedication…"

"That is why your time isn't over quite yet," Oogway interrupted me. "You still have a fate to…"

The old tortoise stopped in the middle of his sentence and everything was completely silent – no one spoke a word; they simply waited for Oogway to continue. The silence was killing me and I was aching to know what he was talking about… was it something about me? Or was it something about my fate?

"What is it?" Thundering Rhino asked and finally broke the silence.

The old tortoise didn't say anything for a few more seconds. Finally he said: "I had a vision… but it can still change… it depends on you."

"Either way," a new voice said. I turned my head and saw a wolf. He looked just like Shanqu almost, and for a second I thought that he had died; only difference was his voice. "You saved China and you've been worthy enough to earn yourself a second chance."

I looked at the buffalo, Thundering Rhino and Oogway who nodded in agreement. I then looked over at Tiankong and Sora. The two also nodded and when I looked around, all the many, countless dead people nodded in agreement too.

Suddenly the many people around me, assumingly all Kung Fu Masters, came closer and closer to me. I was a little afraid that they might attack me or something at first, but soon they stopped. They had formed several big circles around me and suddenly they all took one another by the hand for some reason. I watched in awe as they all did it. Suddenly I felt a strange sensation inside. It was like someone had grabbed me by my sides and was tickling me. Before I could wonder further about it, I felt how I started rising. I started hovering upwards, but suddenly it felt like there was an explosion inside my body. It stopped for a moment, but suddenly it started again. My entire body was shaking as if I were a tree in a storm or something. Suddenly I was swallowed up by an intense light.


	23. The Greatest Treasure in the World

_I'm an ocean, because I'm really deep. If you search deep enough you can find rare exotic treasures._

**Christina Aguilera**

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes and stared right into a wooden ceiling. I was in a little room with wooden floor and some stone walls too. There was a window a little away from the bed and there weren't that many objects in the room other than the bed I was lying in.<p>

I managed to sit up even though my head was spinning and my entire body was hurting. I had… no, I don't think I've ever experienced worse pain to be honest. Have you ever tried to have your entire body hurt with every single move you made? Even when you were just breathing?

I eventually managed to put my feet on the ground. I saw that all I wore was a pair of black pants, very similar to the ones I used to wear, though I knew that these were not the same.

Soon I tried to stand up, but I almost fell over. I shook my head and embraced the pain and managed to take the first step towards the door. It was a long trip – at least it felt like it. I think it took a minute or so to reach the door and exit the room.

I came to a hallway with more doors, and I was very unsure of where to go next. There were several doors on each side of the hallway, and seemingly they were all leading to other rooms. I stood there for a few seconds, but then I noticed a staircase at the end of the hallway. I followed the staircase down and came to another hallway. There were a few doors on each side of it too, but there was one on the narrow side of the hallway, which seemingly led outside.

I carefully opened the door and was overwhelmed by the strong sunlight. It was very blinding at first and I kind of thought that I would fall over, but managed to hold onto the door. As soon as my vision had gotten used to the lighting, I saw that I stood in the noodle shop in Shan City. All the tables were filled and the people who sat there… I recognized all of them as Kung Fu Masters who had fought in the war. Many of them seemed to have gotten hurt, but all of them stared in surprise when they saw that I had gotten up.

Before I could even say anything, all of them started cheering for whatever reason. The noise was kind of overwhelming and I couldn't help but smile widely. Suddenly I saw six people enter the shop; a panda, a crane, a mantis, a viper, a monkey and… Tigress. The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior quickly made their way up to me through the crowd.

All at once they all nailed me to the wall with a big group hug. I could hear my backbone (And several other bones) make a popping noise and it hurt me greatly… but who cared? I then noticed that Tigress was the only one who hadn't jumped at me with a hug.

"We thought you were dead," Monkey said in a very happy and surprised tone. He then hit my arm in a friendly manner (Even though it hurt like…) "Good to see you back on your feet again my friend!"

"Yeah, we were so worried," Viper said. "That explosion could be heard in the battlefield! What did you do?"

After a little small talk about exactly that, I turned to Tigress to ask why she didn't seem as happy. Well sure she had one of her rare smiles on and she was seemingly looking downwards in order to not lose it. I walked towards her, but suddenly she caught me in a hug. Her strong arms locked around my neck and it surprised me a little, but eventually I put my arms around hers to hug her back. I saw some of the Kung Fu Masters behind Tigress look at us with very surprised, maybe even scared looks. Maybe they were afraid that she'd kill me for hugging her back. Well, they were almost right actually. As soon as I had had my arms around her for a few seconds, she pulled back and nailed me to the ground with a punch in one quick motion.

"What was that for?" I groaned in pain as the others helped me getting off the ground. The punch had been so powerful that it could have broken my cheekbone or something. Why the heck would she just punch me randomly like that?

"You almost died on us!" Tigress growled at me as if that was something that made it okay to almost kill me.

"Yeah," Mantis said and jumped onto my shoulder. He then whispered: "Tigress was actually really worried; in fact she almost didn't eat when she knew that you might not wake up…"

"I heard that," Tigress growled in a warning and dangerous tone. But she smiled a little and after that we all walked over to a table and the other Masters moved a little so that there was room enough for all of us.

"How long was I out?" I asked and rubbed my cheek in the spot that Tigress had hit. I then noticed that a lot of the other Masters were staring at my chest and I then remembered my tattoo. I couldn't really fault them for that and decided to let them stare.

"Two days," Crane told me with a relieved tone of voice. "Even Doctor Bai Yi was worried that you wouldn't get up again!"

"I guess I just got lucky…" I couldn't believe that I had been out for two days… inside that dream-thing I had been in, it felt like minutes! Maybe the time on the other side goes much faster than in real life – just like dreaming. That's the only logical explanation I can really give.

Soon more of the Masters around the table started complimenting me about how 'brave' I had been and how they also had thought that I was dead. I couldn't help but smile widely at their many compliments and I tried my best to be a little humble and discrete – tried and failed of course.

"Lynx." I turned around and saw Master Shifu. He was one of the few people here who hadn't taken that much damage. The only difference I could see was the fact that he was supporting himself with a cane – other than that, he seemed to be fine.

"Oh… Shifu," I said in a somewhat surprised tone.

"How could you just blow up the palace like that," he growled at me. He seemed to be angry, but I could see a gleam in his eyes that signaled that he was happy to see me actually. This only made me smile and wave it off. As he was about to continue, I got to my feet and caught the old panda in a hug too, much to his and everyone else's surprise. Everyone stared as if I was crazy for daring to hug an old and respected Master like Shifu. Then I casually and carelessly told him to shut up and sit down, much to the astonishment of the many Kung Fu Masters who didn't know me personally – it was actually kind of funny to see how they stared from me to Shifu; how they seemingly expected him to rage at me.

"So now what?" Po asked his Master. "Zhu is locked in jail people have started to break down the city walls..."

"Wait, Zhu survived?" I asked. I had never expected him to survive such a powerful explosion; I just barely survived and then he just survived like _that_? That was _so_ unfair!

The Five and Po nodded. Po then continued: "But Shanqu has him locked in now, so no worries…"

"I…" had forgotten about the treasure I needed to find. I knew that there was a harbor in Shan City, so my dad could easily get to me. I got to my feet and started running towards the exit of the restaurant, even though it hurt me greatly - if I didn't make it, there would be nothing that could feel the pain. On the way I almost ran over Mr. Ping, who seemed to be very happy about the fact that I had woken up too.

"Oh Hai, it's so great that you're awake again," the old goose said in his usual jolly tone of voice.

"Yeah, I guess," I said in a rather avoiding tone. "I'm sorry Mr. Ping, but I have to leave now…"

"Oh? Why is that? Is it the soup?" he asked, sounding somewhat suspicious. Obviously he would be very insulted if it was because of his noodles.

"No, I haven't had any," I told him and noticed how hungry I was. "But it's important… it's my dad."

"Your father? Oh, he must be very proud of you."

"… I don't really think so," I sighed. This seemed to take Mr. Ping greatly by surprise – as if he couldn't believe that a father wouldn't be proud of a son like me.

"But you defeated Zhu and freed the city," the old goose told me. "Do you really think your father isn't proud of you?"

His voice then changed to a more discrete one: "Tell you what. Po isn't actually my son. I found him as a baby and took him in."

"You did?" I asked surprised. Of course I had a hard time believing that the two were related at all when I first met Mr. Ping and now he finally confirmed it.

He nodded. Then he asked: "And do you know what?"

Shook my head and waited for his answer: "No matter what I'll always be proud of what he does; whether it's as Po the Dragon Warrior or Po my regular son. And I'm sure that any father is proud of his son; no matter how little he shows."

I stopped for a few seconds to think about what he had just said. This really changed my opinion about showing Po the Panda Village I had been in. Why? Well, because I had the feeling that Mr. Ping would be sad if he knew that Po had another family that he thought about… _What am I saying?_ That explosion must have caused a lot of damage to my head! I meant that I just didn't remember where it was, yeah that's why – and _no_ other reason!

But I was still sure that my dad wasn't proud of me. Mr. Ping didn't even seem to notice my tattoo, since he was probably very caught up in the conversation.

"Okay… thanks," I told him. He seemed to be a little surprised and confused as to why I thanked him, but eventually nodded and smiled at me.

"Remember this!" he started as I ran across the marketplace. I turned around and heard him yell: "There's always room for one more at Mr. Ping's!"

* * *

><p>I turned around an old warehouse as I continued down to the harbor. I had done my best to come up with some kind of theory about what the greatest treasure in the world was. On the way to the harbor, I had run into a tailor who had made me a new vest, since the other one apparently had gone lost in the explosion. It was blue with a black trim and looked just like the old one. He wanted payment, but I told him to put it all on Shifu – because that's how I roll.<p>

I had also met some goose who was sent to bring me a 'thank you-letter' from Qiu. He was set to officially become the emperor now that Zhu was gone. I still thought that it wasn't enough to simply lock him inside a cell, but it was probably Qiu's decision.

The goose had been somewhat stumbling and also kind of clumsy and he seemed to be really 'honored' to meet me for whatever reason. He also told me that Qiu was busy with all the repairing, which was the reason why he couldn't thank me personally. I quickly winged it off as I had other things to worry about and just told the goose to go tell Qiu that he was very welcome.

I continued down to the harbor and eventually got there. There were a lot of ships there now that the strict security had been loosened up quite a bit. There were tons of wares from the outside world that were being packed out and there were a lot of people working on getting it all off the ships.

Suddenly I spotted the Feline Empress a little away from the other ships. The Feline Empress is the name of my dad's ship. It's a pretty big ship and there is room for lots of crewmembers and stolen loots onboard. Most of the crew seemed to be away from the ship, but I knew that my dad rarely left the ship.

I made my way onto the ship as I tried to figure out what the greatest treasure in the world was. I knew I would have to lie, but unfortunately my dad is the only person who truly knows when I lie and when I don't. So I had a big chance of getting busted.

"There you are," a way too familiar voice spoke. The door to the captain's cabin was opened and my dad came into sight. He looked just like I remembered; very tall and muscular for a lynx and with light brown fur like me, with black spots and stripes on his arms and on his face. He wore his usual red captain robes and he seemed surprised at the fact that I wore some different clothes compared to those I wore the last time he saw me.

"Yes, here I am," I said and prepared myself for the confrontation. I still had no clue about what the greatest treasure in the world was.

"Come on in," my dad spoke calmly and I followed him into his cabin.

* * *

><p>"So did you find it?" my dad asked. He sounded very doubting, as if he already knew that I hadn't. He sat behind his desk and eyed me from top to toe. "I see that you at least managed to find some new clothes."<p>

"Yeah… I guess," I replied. I then tried to think hard. Then it suddenly hit me; if you'd ask me, the greatest treasure in the world was freedom; if you'd ask some of the crewmembers, the greatest treasure was gold; if you'd ask some of the Kung Fu Masters, they'd probably say wisdom. This could only lead to one conclusion!

"So where is it?" my dad asked with a sly snicker and a sneaky smile.

"Nowhere," I replied, mirroring his smile perfectly. "The greatest treasure in the world… doesn't exist – it's all a question that depends on opinions."

My dad's smile faded away to an expressionless face and I could almost laugh at him. My guess was seemingly right, and he had never expected for me to figure it out. He then sent me a little smile of approval and got to his feet.

"Háizi," he started. And no, he didn't pronounce my name wrong; Haizi means 'kid' and that's all he's ever called me. It's also what he named me; Hai was something they started calling me because it was one syllable shorter. "We know what you've been doing lately… running around and playing hero."

"You do?" I asked surprised. I actually wouldn't have thought that any of the crewmembers would know – especially not him.

He took something from a shelf on the wall. Suddenly he smashed the object against the wooden desk. The impact literally made the entire ship shake. I looked at where his hand was and saw that it was one of my wanted-posters. This one seemed to be relatively new and it said that my bounty was three-hundred and fifty-thousand gold coins.

"How would we not know?" my dad growled at me. "Your bounty rose from three-thousand to three-hundred and fifty-thousand within one week!"

"And we heard people talk about a… _hero_ who wielded a wooden sword," my dad continued, using a great tone of disgust when pronouncing the word 'hero'. He then told me about how they had heard the one story after the other about the things I had done and how the name Hai Zei had gotten on the tongues on at least ten people around each harbor they came to.

"So what?" I growled at him when he was done. He had talked as if it was something to be disappointed about and this was the first time I had ever spoken to him in this tone. He seemed to be very surprised and shocked at that, but I continued: "You might be my dad, but all my life, what have you treated me like? An item, nothing less! But it's my life and I can do whatever I want to do… Got it?"

I turned around and opened the door to the cabin and walked outside. I saw the crew as they seemingly prepared the ship for leaving as I walked across the deck and I was about to go onto land, but… all there was, was sea, sea and even more sea in every direction.

I sighed in annoyance and cursed under my breath. Of course he had wanted me to follow him into the cabin; they had started sailing while I was talking to my dad! And I had finally had something to return to! I could have lived with Po, Shifu and the Furious Five and started a new life, but no; my dad obviously wanted to take the smallest chance of a good life from me.

I knew that getting back now would be difficult and with my luck, I'd most likely never see my friends again. I turned my head to see some of the crewmembers laughing at me.

"Here's a little welcome back-gift," one of them, the second mate, said. He threw two new wooden swords to me, which I managed to catch. _Great_, even when I came back, they'd have to insult me like this. I had kind of expected to be treated with a little more respect, but no; everything was still the same; Millennium Warrior or not, I was still the lowest in rank aboard the Feline Empress… now and forever.

* * *

><p>Dun-dun-DUUUUUN! That's it for this story guys! I want to personally thank all of you who have been following us, since I never thought that I'd ever get to see this story as a completed fic. I don't think I would have been able to finish it without the motivation from you guys' reviews! I'm really grateful and you can expect many more fics from me in the future! So if you liked this one, you better stay tuned for a sequel!<p>

- Timbit :D


	24. Epiclogue and Trivia

I opened my eyes and looked around. Everything was like it was supposed to be, but there was still something different… something in the air. It wasn't a smell or anything, but more like the aura of something. I sighed and got to my feet. I had spent the entire afternoon meditating, and maybe I just actually missed Hai. Of course I remember how I had been very annoyed at him at first, but I came to realize that was just how he was – besides, he even admitted it himself. He had been gone for five months now, and even when he left the restaurant back in Shan City, he hadn't even said goodbye to us. All we knew was that someone had seen him go aboard a ship, which had sailed away.

I left my room and exited the barracks. Everything at Jade Palace had been rebuilt to look just like it had before the attack that one night, maybe except the barracks, which had gotten somewhat bigger than before. The entire place had been leveled with the ground, thanks to Zhu's soldiers, but with the help of Qiu's royal builders, who had also rebuilt the destroyed parts of the Mao palace, the place quickly got to look like its old self again. But it still felt like something was missing – Hai.

This might sound a little weird, but I would almost give anything to hear him call me 'Kitty' or something again. But I guess he was out on the sea and becoming like his father – a pirate.

I came to the outside areas of Jade Palace where I found Monkey and Po sparring. The moon and the stars were already high on the sky, though the sky was still somewhat red and orange to the west. When the two saw me, they immediately smiled and waved at me. I just waved back and sent them a little faint smile. Suddenly I heard some noise coming from the village below the palace. I looked at the others and they nodded, as they had seemingly also heard it (Po seemed to take a little longer noticing it). Soon we were joined by Crane, Viper and Mantis and the six of us hurried down the staircase – just like in the old days before we met Hai.

As soon as we arrived, we saw that it was a group of wolverines from Zhu's army, who had nothing else to do, but to make havoc everywhere they came – most likely just for fun.

I charged the first pack of wolverines as we got into the village. I blocked a punch from one of them as I kicked another in the chest, sending him flying backwards. I blocked a wooden club from another wolverine and then hit him in the chest with both my fists. Soon we all fought against the wolverines, using our great and powerful techniques, but suddenly we saw that many, many more wolverines came into the village. It was almost like they had all targeted the Valley of Peace because they knew that we were there.

They weren't nearly as many as the ones we had fought in the Millennium War – yes, that's what the Masters decided to call it; a fitting name considering that Hai was the Millennium Warrior.

Soon we were cornered by wolverines, and even though we did our best to fight them off, they just kept coming. I kicked another wolverine in the head as the wolverines got closer and closer.

"Now what?" Monkey asked as we backed up against a wall. There was still a few meters between us and the wall and just as far between us and the wolverines.

Suddenly something hit one of the wolverines in the head. He fell to the ground, obviously passed out. Everyone turned their heads to the left and saw a black silhouette coming down an alley with the red sky in the background. This unknown person suddenly brought up his hands behind his shoulders and when he brought them further upwards, he revealed two swords, and soon he got into the light and…

My heart skipped a beat when I recognized the light brown fur with the black spots and stripes, as well as the blue vest and the black pants – Hai.

One thing that surprised me was that he wielded a pair of wooden swords still; I would have thought that he had somehow obtained metallic swords while he was away, but obviously he hadn't.

"Hi guys, missed me?" he asked with a snicker as the wolverines backed a little away. They all seemed to recognize him, but they didn't really look too intimidated.

"Hai?" Po asked in a very surprised tone. "What are you doing here?"

He sent us all a smile. "Saving you, what else?"

This was one of the first times in these five months that I had been this excited. I wanted to hug him, but I simply smiled back at him and otherwise kept my cool, even though simply smiling was pretty hard for me at this moment.

"What about you, Ti?" he asked and looked at me. "Did you miss me?"

"… Maybe," I said, trying my best to not smile too widely. I was sure he knew that I had, but he said nothing and just kept smiling.

Hai then turned towards the wolverines. He slid the blades of his wooden swords together as if to sharpen them and then said: "What do you say we give them a warm goodbye?"

We all nodded and walked up so that we stood on a line; furthest to the left was Monkey, then Mantis and Viper, then Po, Hai, me and Crane. Hai brought up his left sword, so that it was resting on his shoulders behind his head and pointed the tip of the wooden blade of the one in his right hand towards the wolverines. Oh, how I had missed that battle-stance. The rest of us also took on our respective battle stances.

"Okay, let's do this with epicness!" Hai shouted in a… epic way and soon we all six charged into battle. I was sure that Hai knew that he was where he was supposed to be now – he was home.

* * *

><p>Hi guys! Obviously I lied to you! <em>This<em> is how I end this story! The sequel is soon to come, and if you've decided to stay with me and at least check it out, thank you. I want to personally thank all the people who have read this fanfic and told me how much they liked it, because without you guys' feeback, I wouldn't be able to change the story status from _in-progress_ to _complete!_ And as a special bonus, I've decided to post some BTW (Behind the words) stuff for you. It's really random and most of you guys will skip it, but I'll post it anyways, just for the heck of it!

1) I originally took on the name _Timbit the Lynx-Angel_ and _Lynx-Angel_ on deviantART because Hai was intended to be an angel that had fallen from Heaven - which I obviously decided to not use... So if you've ever thought "Hmm... this guy created Hai, who is a lynx, but why Lynx-_Angel?"_ this is your answer. I may have neclected the idea, but I liked the name.  
>The sequel though, will have a character who is based off of this.<p>

2) I may or may not hold the record of using most characters in an entire fanfiction - whether you count the more than three-thousand, unpresented Kung Fu Masters from the Millennium War or not. If you do count them and say you know one, then I'd gladly hear about a fic that beats more than three-thousand characters! :)

3) This story was packed with tons of references right from chapter one. Many of the references are towards the Super Sentai fanchise, which you guys in the US know as Power Rangers (Bleh! -_-).

- Hai is a based off of myself, but he's also a reference Captain Marvelous of Pirate Sentai Gokaiger and Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean, hence refering to them with his somewhat reckless methods.

- Shanqu is a reference to Doggie Kruger from Special-Investigation Sentai Dekaranger, also known as Anubis Kruger from Power Rangers SPD (Who isn't as cool, just saying).

- The Aerial Aliance is a reference to Bird-Man Sentai Jetman, whose motif was birds: a hawk, a condor, an owl, a swan and a swallow.

- The Storm Clan is a reference to Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger A.K.A Power Rangers Ninja Storm, which when you think about it, makes sense.

- The moment where Hai, Po and the Furious Five jump out from the palace, is a reference to the moment in Kung Fu Panda 2 where Po also tells the Five that he loves them.

- Gongzhu and Wangzi are a reference to Go-on Gold and Silver from Engine Sentai Go-Onger, also known as Rangers Operator Gold and Silver from Power Rangers RPM (The two psycho-twins whom everyone loves, right? XD)

4) Seventy-five percent of the story and its characters were made up on the spot. That's simply how I roll and also shows how much of the story was planned from the beginning - Hai had to find the greast treasure in the world and that was it.

5) The greatest treasure was originally supposed to be wisdom and experience in this story, but I changed it at the last moment.

6) The Storm Clan was pretty much an excuse for putting Japanese elements into the story, since it's a country that I quite love for its Tokusatsu and culture.

7) The Wu-Sisters were intentionally left out of the story because I literally didn't know what I should have done with them if I included them.

8) Striking Rhino was inserted to just have a little comic relief and a newbie-like character who's all buttery and such... don't know whether it was a success or a fail.

9) The reason why Hai got to have a blue vest was mainly because _I_ usually wear blue... but it's also because of the rainbow-system. I realized this while writing. Mainly what it is, is that Hai, Po and the Furious Five all can represent the rainbow together: Tigress wears red, Monkey has orange-ish fur, Viper has yellow scales, Mantis is all green, Hai wears a blue vest, Crane wears dark blue pants and Po's fur is black, which as a light is represented as violet or purple, and together the seven colors of the rainbow!

10) Hai was originally supposed to own his own ship, or at least steal one.

11) All the dead Masters were originally supposed to return and fight as ghosts, but there were two problems; 1, how would a ghost be able to fight with no physical body? And 2, I'd need some kind of weird explanation afterwards.

12) The many scrolls the Mao family owns were supposed to be like the Dragon Scroll, just with different functions. That's why they were described to be made of metallic material instead of paper as you most likely noticed while reading.

13) Hai was supposed to decapitate Zhu, but I changed that, since... well, I guess it's kind of obvious, right? Too graphic for me to write about... besides, it's still KFP, right?

14) I originally planned on making a Hai/Fenghuang pairing, but dropped the idea, since I couldn't really fit it within the story... that is, unless you guys want it?

- The reason for that was because Fenghuang is and always will be my favorite villain from Legends of Awesomeness. Let's face it, we all love her.

15) Speaking of Legends of Awesomeness, I wrote it based off of that one episode with Fenghuang and from info gotten from the Kung Fu Panda Wikia, as I've only watched that episode... that's why I tried to shy as much away from the canon characters from the series as possible.

- Hai actually share some unintended similarities with Song: they're both felines, they both steal and they're both good on the inside... somewhat.

16) I planned on making some Crane/Mei Ling stuff, but I didn't because I'm an idiot who forgot about her existence at the end of the fic... man I feel stupid.

17) Jissai was mainly added to make some fun of Tai LungxTigress, as that's not a pairing I'm a big fan of... but making fun of it in a friendly way (Tai Lung/Tigress fans, please don't kill me...)

18) The Shift Jade was a reference to the Shift Gem, Orb, whatever, from Legends of Awesomeness, since I thought the whole illusion thing was kind of 'nah', so I just _had_ to make something cooler!

- The idea about changing Mantis into a sword was... crazy, and I have no idea about where it came from.

19) Hai's birthday is the thirteenth of November - the day the idea of Kung Fu Pirate came to me somehow.

- Hai is this far the most successful and complex character I have created... let's see if Chikasha can live up to that!

20) The dragon from chapter twenty-one was completely ignored by the readers, so I can't wait to see how they're going to react to the sequel if they choose to ignore such a huge spoiler-element... -_-

* * *

><p>So I hope that you enjoyed this little bit of travia - if you actually read it - and might have a better understanding for the things I chose to do inside the fic and why. Maybe it was even somewhat intertaining to read as it gave some fun little info you wouldn't have known otherwise.<p>

So again, thanks to you guys for following me throught this half year of literature and epicness! And I feel blessed to finally write these words on this story:

**_- The End._**


End file.
